Growing Up the Hard Way
by Rachel Willows
Summary: A story about Marlene and Denzel, as they are forced to grow up through several more instances of hardship. One of those things would include the return of Genesis, and someone far, far worse.
1. Chapter 1

Marlene opened her eyes, smiling to herself. Today was going to be a good day. How could it not be? She hopped up out of bed, then had to wait a moment for her legs to balance. After they had, she promptly changed into the new outfit she had gotten with Tifa the night before, and ran down to the bar.

Denzel was with Tifa, getting things ready for opening. He looked up at her and grinned. "Hey Marlene," His deep teenage voice threatened to crack, "happy birthday." She smiled. "Thanks. So where's my cake?" Tifa scoffed, and put her hands on her hips, smiling. "You'll have to help with it, just like any other day."

Denzel laughed. "Just like I had to help with mine." "Aw man," Marlene pouted, knowing she was acting much younger than her now fifteen years of age. Tifa simply chuckled and returned to her work. Someone knocked on the entrance, and Denzel promptly ran to open it. "I invited Mai over for the party today Marlene, I hope you don't mind."

Marlene's smile twitched. "Of course not, she's perfectly welcome." He smiled back at her and then opened the door. Mai smiled and held up a brightly colored box. "Hi Marlene, happy birthday!" Marlene smiled back and waved. "Hi Mai, thanks." Mai gently set the box down on a nearby table, and turned to talk with Denzel. He, of course, devoted his full attention to her.

Marlene's smile faded. Maybe today wouldn't be that great of a day after all. Tifa saw her brief moment of sadness. "What is it?" She turned around and smiled. "Nothing. Where's Cloud? I thought he was taking today off for my birthday?"

Tifa's lips turned up into a grin. "He did take today off." Marlene sighed. "Then where is he?" Tifa simply shook her head. "I'm not sure I'm allowed to tell you." Marlene took an apron and tied it around her back. "Well, are you allowed to tell me where dad is at least?" "He's with Cloud." Tifa replied. "So, no."

Marlene gave up after that, and simply busied herself with making a birthday cake. "Marlene?" Denzel called. She jerked up her head at his voice. "Yeah?" "Why don't you come and sit with us?" He asked. "Um . . ." She stared down at the half frosted cake. Tifa nudged her with her elbow. "I'll finish the cake." Marlene smiled at her. "Thanks." Tifa nodded, and she went to sit next to Mai.

"How are you today?" Mai asked, after turning towards Marlene in the seat. Marlene smiled politely. "I'm fine, thank-you." Denzel seemed to think for a moment. "Have you had breakfast yet?" Marlene looked at him to verify that he had been addressing her, and happily smiled when she realized that he had. Then her stomach rumbled. "Uh, no actually, I didn't."

Mai sat straight up in the booth. "Really?" Marlene nodded. Mai motioned for Marlene to get up, and pulled her moogle head shaped purse off the ground. "Then I'll get some for you." Denzel seemed surprised. "No, you don't have to. I was planning—" Mai got up out of the seat and shook her head at him. She then smiled over at Marlene. "Just consider it an early birthday present."

Denzel sighed and then shuffled out of the booth. "You're coming?" Marlene asked. He nodded. "It is your birthday after all." Her smiled slightly faded. "Ok then."

"Tifa?" He turned towards the bar. "Me and Mai are gonna take Marlene for some breakfast. We'll be back in a little while." Tifa smiled and nodded. Denzel ran over to the door and held it open for the two girls. Marlene grabbed her purse and followed Mai out the door. "So where are we going?" Mai put her arm through Marlene's. "Hm, I don't know. Where do you want to go?"

"There is this one little restaurant close to the town square that me and Denzel like to go to sometimes, how about there?" Marlene suggested, looking over at Denzel, who had his hands in his pockets. "Sounds fine to me," He replied, still looking forwards. "What about you Mai?" "Wherever the birthday girl wants to go." Mai replied simply. Marlene grinned. If there was one thing she loved, it was getting her own way.

After breakfast at the café, they headed back to the bar, where Reeve and Vincent had arrived. They were sitting in a booth, Reeve holding a Cait Sith doll in his lap. Vincent was his usual brooding self, but managed to smile for Marlene. "Happy Birthday!" The little Cait Sith doll called when it spotted Marlene. It ran off and jumped into her arms, where she held it as though it was a regular stuffed toy.

Reeve laughed at his little companion. "Happy birthday Marlene." Vincent echoed the same, and Marlene thanked them. "So where's Yuffie?" She asked, setting her leftovers on the bar. "She's with Cid right now, he was going to pick her up on the way." Vincent answered. Marlene's eyes grew bigger. "Cid's coming too?" She turned to Tifa. "Just what did you have planned for today?"

"Just a simple reunion in honor of your birthday." Tifa answered innocently. "Relax Marlene," Denzel said, patting her on the back. "They don't have anything particularly dangerous planned." He grinned. Tifa shushed him. "Be quiet." But she still smiled. Marlene pouted. "Nothing dangerous at all?"

"Nothing dangerous at all." Tifa echoed. "Aw man," Marlene said again. She turned around and spotted a rather large and brightly colored box sitting on one of the tables. She squealed and jumped up to inspect it. Cait Sith laughed. "That one's from me!" She set the doll down on the nearest table and bopped its nose, grinning.

"Where's my birthday girl?" Barrett called from outside. Tifa glanced out the window. "Sounds like your father's back," Reeve laughed. "You don't say?" Marlene hopped outside to see the huge man getting something out of a brown bag. "Daddy!" She yelled, happy to see him. "Yo Marlene!" He called, his grin reaching from ear to ear. She ran up to hug him, and he picked up her up like she was still as small as she had been when she was nine.

"Don't go choking her now," Cloud's quiet voice laughed. Barrett set her down, laughing. Marlene then turned to Cloud. She smiled and hugged him. "Happy birthday," He said, and lightly hugged her back. "Well let's not waste any time, I'm ready for some cake!" Barrett exclaimed. "Daddy!" Marlene rebuked him, "It's not polite to eat the cake without all of your guests."

"Of course it's not!" Yuffie yelled, and ran–no–skipped, towards them, with Cid not far behind. He promptly threw down his cigarette after a slight glare from Barrett. "Happy birthday little Marly," His raspy voice called. Yuffie started jumping up and down, being her usual self.

"I can't believe you're fifteen already! I mean, the first time I saw you you were like, ten right? And the last time I saw you you were thirteen, right? I'm really sorry I haven't been visiting by the way, things have just been so busy in Wutai . . ." She was saying. Cloud started walking inside, and Marlene quickly followed, eager to finally get the celebration started.

"Cloud!" Tifa called happily, and ran up to embrace her husband. "Did you find it?" He nodded, smiling. "Find what?" Marlene asked suspiciously. "Nothing," Cloud said, still staring at his wife.

Marlene rolled her eyes and went to inspect her cake. She was surprised to find two of them. Denzel caught her eyeing it, and laughed. "Me and Tifa had been working on that when you got up this morning. We had to work fast to make sure you didn't find it." Mai, who had been staying close to Denzel, laughed. "So that's why you were trying not to laugh when she started working on her cake." Marlene merely stuck her tongue out at the both of them.

"Ok it's time for presents!" Tifa said suddenly, breaking the gaze she had held with Cloud. Cait Sith rubbed his head. "Isn't that normally after cake?" She grinned. "Not at this birthday party." She then turned to Marlene with a face that made her wonder again just what they had planned for her.

*Later that day*

"Bye everyone!" She called out to Vincent, Reeve, Cid, and Yuffie, who all had to go about their business. "Thank-you so much for coming!" Yuffie waved goodbye one more time, then turned around, chattering away with Cid.

"Did you have fun?" Mai asked Marlene after she came in. She sat down in a booth across from Denzel. "Mhm!" Denzel grinned. "I knew you would."

"Tifa!" Cloud suddenly called from upstairs, where he had been talking with Barrett, his voice sounding urgent. Tifa immediately set the cake pans down in the sink and started running to him. "What is it Cloud?"

"Um, Mai?" Denzel started. She sighed and picked up her purse. "I should probably get going, right?" He nodded. "Sorry." "No, don't be!" She said, and gave Marlene a quick hug. "I had a really great time. See you later." "Bye Mai," Marlene waved. Denzel got up to get the door for her. After he had, he came to sit across from Marlene again.

"I wonder what Cloud called about," He thought aloud.

"Me too," Marlene said, and nervously glanced toward the stairs. He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her. She took it, and then looked down at the trinket he had just given her.

It was a small piece of materia that had been cut to the shape of a rose. Its color, though a dark blueish tone, seemed to have luminescent quality. It was attached to a thin silver chain, that was also beautiful in its own right.

He smiled as she admired it. "Happy birthday Marlene." She still stared down at it, smiling. "It's beautiful." He leaned back in his seat. "It's supposed to bring you good luck." She finally looked up. "Thank you Denzel." She tossed her hair out of the way and put it on. "How do I look?" She asked after she had finished.

Denzel smiled. "Very happy." She attempted to scowl. "That's not what I meant." He still smiled. "I know."

Tifa, Cloud, and Barrett came running down the stairs. "Kids," She started, "We're leaving Edge."


	2. Chapter 2

"What?" Marlene asked, immediately getting up. Denzel quickly followed. "You heard her." Cloud stated, his voice holding a stern tone that she had not heard in a long time. "So go up to your rooms and start packing." Marlene hesitated. "Now Marlene." Tifa said. She nodded and ran up to her room.

She tried not to think about what might be wrong as she packed.

She tried not to remember the last time Cloud had been upset like this.

All the stress started to make her eyes blur.

"Marlene, are you crying?" Denzel quietly asked, from her doorway. She turned to look at him, and, after blinking, realized that she was. "Oh," She meekly said. "I guess I am." He came over to hug her. "Don't." She took a deep breath, then stepped back when she was sure she wouldn't disappoint him. She smiled, slightly. "I'll be fine. This just surprised me, that's all." He set a hand on her shoulder, then turned to let her finish packing.

Cloud came up to her room a few moments later. "Are you done packing?" She nodded. "Alright, let's go then." She grabbed her bag, which was bursting at the seams, and shut the door behind herself. She walked down the steps and put a smile on her face. Cloud was quietly speaking with Tifa near the entrance, but looked up and stopped talking when he heard her footsteps.

Denzel came in through the entrance, sopping wet. "Barrett's here with his van." Tifa picked up her own bag and headed out the door. Marlene started to follow. Denzel promptly pulled out an umbrella and opened the door for her. She looked up at him and smiled. Cloud really had taught him to be a gentleman.

She jumped up into the back of the van with Denzel, while Barrett and Tifa sat in the front seat. Cloud followed them on Fenrir.

"So, where are we going, and why are we leaving?" She demanded after about thirty minutes of silence. "We're heading over to Wutai. You two, along with Tifa, will be staying there while me and Cloud get the group together and sort things out." Barrett answered. "Ok," Marlene said, "that explains where we're going, but not why we're leaving."

"To tell the truth Marlene, we aren't exactly sure ourselves." Tifa said. "All we know is that something, or someone, woke up underneath Midgar." "Someone?" Denzel asked. Apparently he hadn't been told much either.

Marlene's smile faded.

The last time someone had 'woken up' it had been Sephiroth. And soon after he had summoned Meteor.

"It's not Sephiroth, is it?" She asked, worry coloring her voice. "Not this time baby." Barrett responded, his voice helping to calm her down a little. Denzel looked over at her, noticing the worry in her voice as well. "Cloud finally finished things with him five years ago. I'm living proof of that."

She looked at him and sub-consciously reached towards the spot on his forehead where he had had the Geostigma. "You're right." She took her hand back after a short moment. He smiled. "So no worries, right?" "Whatever you say," She grinned, and turned to look out a window. "Not about Sephiroth at least." She said, clearing up her last statement. She turned back around and faced the front seat. "How do we even know that this happened though?"

"W.R.O. troops were cleaning out the final areas of Deep Ground when they ran into some problems." Tifa said. "Right after that, they lost connection with headquarters, and they haven't been heard from since. Reeve sent out a search team, but soon after they reached Deep Ground they lost connection as well."

"Bad things happen when stuff like this goes on. None of us liked the sound of it, so we thought we'd get you kids outta here and take you somewhere safe." Barrett continued for Tifa. Marlene turned back into the backseat, satisfied that she had gotten an answer. She sat quietly for a little while, then yawned.

She glanced out the window again. Could the day be over already? Her question was answered when she saw the setting sun behind Midgar as they drove away.

She yawned again, and tried to get comfortable enough to sleep. Within a few minutes, she had fallen asleep next to Denzel.

In her dreams, she relived the previous day. Tifa had taken out a rather suspicious brown bag, similar to the one that Barrett had held earlier. True to Marlene's thoughts, Barrett ended up finding his brown bag, and they both came to sit by her. Mai and Denzel came to set the cake in front of her, with all of the candles lit.

They all started to sing 'Happy Birthday," and Marlene joined in. Then Tifa and Barrett pulled the mysterious items from their bags.

And shot the birthday cake.

Marlene jumped and screamed. "My cake!" Everyone laughed. "Happy birthday!" They said in unison. Even Vincent seemed amused by what had just happened. Marlene sighed. So this was why they had made two cakes. Annoyed that they had chosen to destroy hers, she took a deep breath, made a wish, and blew the only remaining candle out.

After she had done this, everyone ended up clapping and patting her on the back. Everyone was patting her on the back, and they wouldn't stop. She started moving away from their hands, uncomfortable. Then she promptly fell onto the floor.

"Marlene!" Tifa's voice said, sounding surprised. "You ok?" Marlene shook off her grogginess. "Yeah." Denzel reached out and helped pull her back onto the seat. "How long was I asleep?" She asked. "It's about one in the morning right now, so, four hours?" Denzel shrugged. Marlene looked up at his poorly lit face. "Have you been awake this whole time?" He nodded. Her eyes finally adjusted, and she could see that Tifa was the one driving the van now. Barrett had the radio turned on, and was listening to an oldies station.

Then Tifa's phone rang, and her driving slightly swerved as she pulled it out of her pocket. "Yes Cloud?" Barrett punched the radio, turning it off. Denzel and Marlene held their breaths. "I need to pull over?" She asked, her reflection in the rear-view mirror seeming confused. "We just stopped an hour ago to get gas, why do I need to— "

She was silent for a split second as small black things started to pelt the windshield. Her expression changed to fear in another split second, and Marlene saw her glancing back at them. "We're pulling over right now." She slowly turned to the right, and after safely reaching the shoulder, turned off the headlights.

Marlene heard Cloud's bike pull up behind them, and then heard its engine die down. Cloud opened the back doors, and hopped up inside. Marlene caught a glimpse of his face. His hair was sopping wet, and his face had tiny little red specks on it, as though something had been hitting it as he drove Fenrir.

Shortly after he sat down and the light had faded again, Marlene heard the soft clunk of metal hitting the van floor. Cloud had drawn his sword. She felt the urge to ask what was wrong, but kept her mouth shut, afraid to break the silence.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked quietly. He stayed silent for a moment. "Turn on your headlights." He finally replied. She did as he said.

A quick blur of black and red flashed in front of them.

"Shit." Cloud swiftly muttered. Barrett let out a whole stream of curses, as though he'd been holding them in the entire time. "What was that?" He eventually asked, after he had thoroughly defiled whatever had been in front of them.

Marlene stared out the windshield, pretending not to have heard all that her father had just said. Then she noticed black feathers resting on the van's nose. Her eyes grew wide.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked again. "Get the kids out of here. Me and Barrett will catch up later." Cloud replied, getting back out of the van. Barrett grinned. "Awright!" He opened the passenger door and got out without another word.

"Ok you two," Tifa started the engine. "Get strapped in. This is definitely going to be a bumpy ride." They quickly did as she said. Marlene looked out the back window with Denzel.

Flashes of lightning filled the sky as they drove away.


	3. Chapter 3

.

Tifa drove down the road at an insane speed; Marlene and Denzel kept quiet the rest of the way. After they had reached Wutai's outer limits, Tifa's phone rang. "Cloud?" Her voice sounded like it was about to break. "You're alright?"

She lightly set her foot on the brake, and they lurched forward in their seats. "How fast were we going?" Marlene whispered to Denzel. He shook his head. "You don't want to know." He whispered back.

"Where are you now?" Tifa continued. "Alright. After I drop off the kids, I'm going to come back and get you." They had nearly reached the center of the village. Tifa pulled up close to a rather large Pagoda, and turned to the backseat. "We're here. You two get some rest ok? I'll call you tomorrow after we get back to Edge."

They grabbed their bags and got out. Tifa hit the gas as soon as they had shut the doors, and they watched her drive away.

"Oh my god!" Yuffie yelled from inside the building. After much banging around from inside, the front door opened, and she came bounding out. "Oh my god!" She repeated. "What are you two doing here?"

"Well," Denzel started. "You know what, never mind." Yuffie interrupted. "You look absolutely exhausted. Come on inside and get some sleep before you try to explain anything." He smiled, and picked up his and Marlene's bags. "Thanks." Yuffie patted him on the back, and went back to open the front door.

"There are two rooms next to each other right at the top of the stairs." She said as she shut the door behind them. "Marlene gets first pick on which one she wants." She winked at Marlene and followed them to the base of the staircase. After they had reached the top and spotted the rooms, she waved at them, and ran off to the kitchen.

"So," Denzel set the bags down. "Which one?" Marlene thought about it for a little while. "Hm," The she decided. "The one on the left." He nodded, picked up his bag, and headed into the room on the right. "Good night Marlene."

She picked up her bag, and entered the room on the left. "Good morning Denzel." And, at the same time she had gotten up the day before, she fell asleep on the bed.

"Marlene?" Yuffie called. She heard footsteps skipping up to her bed. "Marlene, come on, get up!" Something tried to tug on her blanket. She mumbled something, but even she wasn't sure what she had tried to say. Yuffie sighed. "Denzel's been up for two hours now. I think it's time for you to wake up."

"I am awake," Marlene mumbled. "So," Yuffie's excited voice started hammering in Marlene's head. "Get up!" She sighed, and sat up. Yuffie was grinning at her. "That's more like it. Come down in a few, ok? I made a whopper of a breakfast." Marlene nodded, and slowly got out of bed.

It felt odd for her, to be so grumpy after she had woken up. Normally she was a morning person. But she wasn't normally in the back of a car all night, she realized. And then she realized that it must've been at last noon. Her eyes opened wide, fully alert.

She glanced over at the clock, and sighed in partial relief. It wasn't quite noon yet. Just five minutes before. She then laughed at herself for finding that relieving, and quickly changed, becoming aware of the fact that she was hungry. She ran down the steps, almost falling when she had to keep herself from squashing a cat that was napping two steps from the bottom.

She quietly stepped over it, then stroked its head for a moment. Its light green eyes flickered open, and it meowed at her. "Good morning to you too," She chuckled. "Do I hear the morning person?" Yuffie teased from the kitchen. Marlene rolled her eyes and ran through the door.

Denzel was sitting at a breakfast bar, apparently drinking some coffee and reading a book. Yuffie was busy attending different things on the stove; what Marlene noticed the most, however, was the plate of hot waffles placed right next to the stove.

Denzel looked up from his book. "Hey Marlene," He smiled and promptly placed his nose back into the book. It must have been intriguing. She smiled back. "Hey Denzel." Yuffie turned away from the stove and removed oven mitts from her hands. "Well good morning! I made waffles, and some eggs and bacon are on the way." She picked up the plate of waffles and set it down next to some butter and syrup.

"Eat up! But don't forget to save some room for the other things." She ordered. Marlene nodded solemnly, and started putting butter on her waffles. "Have you heard from Tifa yet?" Yuffie's excited mood visibly calmed down. "No, not yet." Marlene finished putting the syrup on her breakfast. "So Denzel explained everything?"

Yuffie nodded. "But you know what?" Her mood picked up again. "I'm sure those guys can take care of themselves. They've always been able to before." Denzel pulled his nose back out of the book. "Uh, Yuffie, the bacon?" Yuffie turned around immediately. "Oh no it's burnt!" She turned to look at a separate pan. "And the eggs too?"

She took a spatula and plopped the burnt items into a bowl. "Looks like you'll have to go with just waffles today Marlene," She placed the bowl on the ground and called her cat, which quickly came running to munch on the rejected food. Denzel took another sip of his coffee and winked at Marlene, who simply smiled and started to devour her waffles.

After Marlene had finished her breakfast–or, lunch, she helped with the dishes. Yuffie was obviously not accustomed to cooking for more than two, and had been staring at the heap of dishes with despair the entire time Marlene ate.

"So I'd imagine you do a lot of dishes when you help Tifa with the bar, I mean, you have a lot of people come to eat there don't you? That's part of the reason I was always glad that I didn't have to help with any of the restaurants around here. Not that I was home very often back then, and not that any of the restaurants were really popular either . . ." Yuffie had started rambling.

Denzel's phone rang, promptly shutting her up. Marlene dried off the last plate and turned around, leaning against the sink. After a short conversation, Denzel's side being mostly 'yes' and 'will do,' he hung up his phone. "Tifa picked Barrett and Cloud up this morning, and they weren't hurt too bad. They made it back to Edge just a few minutes ago, and are gonna meet up with Reeve and everyone to do some investigating."

Marlene set down the towel she had been fidgeting with. "So they aren't going to tell us what happened after we left, or who even attacked us in the first place?" He shook his head. "Apparently not." She shrunk. "Well that's boring." Yuffie looked over at her sadly. "You're bored already?"

Marlene looked over at her and shook her head. "No, I, that's not what I meant at all!" Yuffie crossed her arms. "Cause you know if you get really REALLY bored you can always come materia hunting with me. All the monsters around here carry all sorts of materia around with them. Why do they? I have no idea–" Marlene smiled and unwittingly touched the pendant on her chest. "I'm good on materia, thanks."

Denzel looked up from his book as soon as she had said that. She blushed and took off her apron. "I'm gonna go for a walk, see you guys in a little bit." She walked out of the room before either of them could offer to come with her.

She walked quickly at first, then slowed down as the pagoda shrunk in the distance behind her. Breathing deeply, she smiled and spun around in a small field. But, something in the very edge of her vision made her stop.

Before she could fully react, something cold and sharp was being held up against her throat. She looked up to see a giant black wing blocking out the sun, and fearfully moved her eyes down to see a man with startling blue eyes. His flaming red hair was a shade darker than his leather coat, and his smile seemed almost friendly.

"You're coming with me," He said, in a voice as smooth as velvet.

Denzel tapped the counter impatiently with his finger tips. "She'll be back soon," Yuffie commented as she attempted to cook yet another large meal. He stopped tapping his fingers, but was still worried. "She's been gone twenty minutes," He got out of his chair and started heading the back door. "I'm going to go find her." Yuffie shook her head, turned off the stove, and followed after him.

"Marlene?" He called, following the path that she had hopefully gone on as well. Yuffie tripped over something behind him. "Ouch," She muttered, and he whirled around, staring at her. "What?" She asked. He shrugged. "I don't know, I didn't know you were coming with me," She put her hands on her hips. "Well I am." He turned around and kept walking. "Ok then."

They reached the edge of a small green field, where the path ended. "Marlene?" Denzel called again. There was no answer.

But, to be truthful, there wasn't a sound at all. Only the wind rustling in the tree's limbs. Yuffie's ninja self kicked in immediately. "This doesn't seem right, Denzel." He nodded, but walked further into the field, looking at the ground for footprints.

He followed her steps in a slight erratic pattern, then suddenly came to a stop. Next to where her footprints had stopped, there was another, considerably larger, set. And next to that set of footprints, was a large black feather. Yuffie came to look at what he was staring at.

"Oh my god."

"WHAT?" Tifa screamed into the phone; even Yuffie heard it. "I'm pretty sure you heard me right, Tifa, if you managed to react like that." Denzel replied. "Hold on a second, let me call Cloud and tell him." She replied, and hung up the phone before Denzel could tell her otherwise. Yuffie frowned. "Why'd she hang up so fast?"

"She's going to tell Cloud." He grimaced. Yuffie shook her head emphatically. "No, no no! If she tells Cloud, he'll go on another one of those guilt trip things and be useless for months!" Denzel flipped his phone shut and stuck it in his pocket. "I think he's grown up a bit since then, Yuffie. He's just going to be //really// mad."

"Oh great, he'll just go spamming omni-slash on every moving thing he sees then." Yuffie sighed. Denzel laughed at the idea, but then groaned. "What?" Yuffie asked, putting her hands on her hips. Denzel turned to her, crossing his arms. "I just realized that someone is going to have to tell—" He winced, "—Barrett."


	4. Chapter 4

Marlene screamed as she felt her legs leave the ground. "You know if you struggle too much, I can always drop you," Her abductor calmly said. She shut her mouth, but couldn't quite manage to get her eyes closed. "That's better." He said, and they started to fly even higher. After what seemed like hours, he finally decided to land in another small clearing.

He gently set her down, and she promptly fell to the ground. She glared up at him. "Who are you?" He stopped laughing. "You don't know?" She hoped her silent glare would answer his question. "I suppose it's not a surprise," He started, his voice holding a sarcastic tone, "Sephiroth was always the most popular SOLDIER 1st Class. The 'Hero.'"

Even though she hated it, the thought of Sephiroth still brought fear into her mind, and it showed on her face. He noticed. "But he turned on all of you, didn't he?" He chuckled and turned around. "So I was wrong, it never was Angeal in the first place."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Escaped Marlene's lips, and she gasped. Having Barrett as a father had apparently affected her language. Even so, she /was/ a little frustrated. Just a little. He turned around. "Have you ever read 'Loveless?'"

She vaguely remembered seeing a book with the same name somewhere in Tifa's library. She had never actually taken the trouble to read it though. So, she shook her head.

He sighed, seeming genuinely disappointed. "Then you are truly deprived, my little friend." She started getting up. "I'm not your friend." And she was very insulted that he had called her 'little.'

"'Infinite in mystery, is the gift of the goddess, we seek it thus, and take to the skies,'" His wing slightly fluttered, and he lowered his head for a split second. Then he turned around to see that she was standing. "So I see that your legs are capable of supporting you again."

She looked up at him. "Shouldn't that be obvious?" It was her turn to be sarcastic. "Hm," He said, seeming amused. "Well, since you asked," He drew his long red blade and pointed it at the sky. "I am Genesis Rhapsodos, Protector of the Planet!" He had probably meant it as an inside joke, but she didn't take it the same way.

"Protector of the Planet?" Marlene asked, having lost her temper. "My family was doing nothing to harm the Planet! The WRO is helping the Planet! Why did you attack us?"

He turned back around, and pointed the sword at her chin. "You don't quite understand things yet, do you?" She gulped. "You're still my captive, little girl, you shouldn't blow your cap so easily."

She simply gulped again. He slightly smiled, and withdrew his sword. She took a deep breath, relieved to have the metal removed from her skin. "Would you at least tell me where you are taking me?" Her voice sounded humiliatingly shaky. He smiled. "Do you happen to like apples?"

This time he seemed to be much more gentle with her as he carried her through the sky. That didn't mean she wasn't terrified. The wind flying in her face felt wonderful, that was true, but the ground being at least fifty feet below her was not quite the same. She had to make sure she kept her face forward, or else she would become motion sick, and puke all over this 'Genesis."

All over again.

Yes, last time they had taken off, she had lost control of her stomach. He couldn't deny it was partially his fault though, could he? He had picked her up quite suddenly and roughly, taking off without a word, aside from muttering something else about apples.

She couldn't make any connection between apples and suddenly taking off.

She couldn't make any sense of the man who had kidnaped her either.

He had known Sephiroth? He had been in SOLDIER? Like Cloud thought he had?

She briefly wondered if Cloud knew anything about Genesis. Maybe he did, and that was why he'd been so tense last night. But if //he'd// been so tense, Cloud, who took everything in stride, wouldn't that mean that //she// ought to be absolutely terrified?

In a way, she was. But not in the way that she was afraid for her life. She knew that someone would come to find her; Barrett would be especially determined.

But, would they even know who had taken her? A fear gripped her stomach, and she felt a whole new wave of motion sickness. This time though, she managed to keep control, and he never noticed a thing. She thought he hadn't, at least.

He suddenly dove down, and she finally got her eyes shut. Then, her feet touched the ground, and she would've fallen on her face, if Genesis hadn't caught her shoulder. "Would you stop doing that?" He grumbled. She caught her balance, and took a few deep breaths. If there had ever been one, that was a rough landing.

After her stomach had calmed down, and her lungs were appropriately filled with oxygen, she looked back up. "Sorry," She took another deep breath. "It doesn't matter anyway." He continued in the same tone. "We're here." She looked up to see a destroyed village. He smiled and turned towards a large tree.

"Banora Village." Judging from the tone of his voice, he was content to be there. "From the war with Wutai?" Marlene asked, looking around. He turned around, a slight scowl of his face. "No." "But I thought that—" She tried to continue. "No." He said again, this time his voice was dark and stern. "This is Banora Village. The only ties its destruction holds are with me, and with Shin-Ra."

She stared up at him like he had spoken a foreign language. "I see that even after the destruction of Shin-Ra's power, people still haven't taken the time to fix the history books." He coldly commented. She blinked. "It's only been seven years, it took us long enough to get back on our feet as it was! With Geostigma and Sephiroth coming back five years ago," She glared up at him. "It was hard."

"I missed all that, huh?" He muttered, his eyes as cold as ice. Marlene, taken aback by the cold glare in his eyes, shuddered, and could say nothing else. He turned his back to her once again. "Follow me." She unwillingly did as he said, and he spread his wing out. "We're going to have to fly one more time."

He turned around to pick her up. She held her breath, and they had taken off. He flew a few dozen feet off of the ground, and she saw the setting sun over a few trees. And then, directly below her, a glowing crevice in the ground. Genesis slowly fell down into it, his wing making their landing as light as a feather touching the ground.

She waited for her eyes to adjust, and saw a single apple tree in the midst of a huge cavern of materia. Genesis was walking over to it. She touched the materia that hung around her neck, and found the courage to follow him. He plucked an apple from the tree, and handed it to her. "Welcome home."

Yuffie had put her foot down. She would not stay in Wutai while the others, _including_ Shelke, the 25 year old in a 12 year old's body, got to run off doing various dangerous missions. There was no way, she had said, and that was why Denzel was stuck with the chatter-box for an entire four hours on the 'Shera' as they headed to Edge with Cid.

It seemed, much to his dismay, that she had finally gotten over her motion sickness, and she was perfectly able to talk to her heart's content without any interruptions. He finally came up with the excuse that he needed to get some fresh air, or he himself would throw up, to get away from her.

He walked down to the air deck, and took a deep breath. If he'd stayed any longer, his ears might've started bleeding. Or something along the lines of that. He started thinking about Marlene, and stared out into the empty sky.

Cloud hadn't taken it very well. He'd called Denzel immediately and grounded him for the rest of his teenage life, until he'd realized that he wouldn't be home to enforce those rules. After Cloud had realized this, he made it Denzel's job to tell Barrett.

Cloud's temper had been _nothing_ compared to the way that Barrett had reacted. He had screamed cuss words that Denzel wasn't even sure really existed. Then he threatened to kill the first (more cuss words) that crossed his path. Luckily that person was Tifa, and in her own frazzled emotional state she had managed to calm him down. Slightly.

After several rounds of mindless yelling and the sound of flying bullets, Barrett calmed down enough to listen to the details and realize that it wasn't anyone's particular fault. And then the black feather was mentioned, and the phone line went dead.

Tifa called a few minutes later to apologize, Barrett had crushed his phone and shot several of Reeve's computers into tiny pieces.

Was it really Sephiroth that had taken Marlene? He wondered. He rubbed his forehead, leaning on the guard rail. It couldn't be. He had survived, thanks to Cloud, Tifa, and Marlene.

She couldn't just run off and die, now that he'd finally gotten back on his own two feet. He absentmindedly stared down at his worn sneakers.

"Hey kid!" Cid's voice croaked over the intercom. "You'd better get inside, we're headin' in for a landing!" Denzel started to feel the airship descend, and ran inside. Past the chocobo stables. Up to the bridge.

"We're just about there." Yuffie said, incredibly excited. Denzel stared at her. Did she _ever_ calm down? He shook his head, and decided to ignore the hopping woman next to him to the best of his abilities.

After they had finally landed, and he had had a tearful reunion with Tifa; received a pat on the back from Cloud, and had had his eardrums blown out by Barrett, they all sat down with Reeve and Cait Sith for some news.

"Well, we have good news, and some bad news." The puppet started. "Which would you like to hear first?" Reeve finished. "The good," Cloud and Tifa said at the same time. "Alrighty," Cait Sith agreed. "We've found the missing WRO members, and they're all doing fine."

"However, the bad news," Reeve started, "Is that we now know that the person you ran into isn't the one that recently woke up beneath Midgar. Although our evidence would suggest that he was there, once, he's been awake for quite some time."

He took a deep breath. "What has awakened, I'm afraid, is far, far worse."


	5. Chapter 5

"Home?" Marlene meekly asked. Genesis nodded. "This was my home, long ago." "And now it's going to be mine, right?" She asked. He turned around and plucked another apple. "For the time being." She nodded, saying nothing. He gestured to the fruit in her hands, "Eat up."

She stared at the apple she held. How did she know it wasn't poisoned? It was a strange shade of purple, but maybe that was the way that Dumb Apples were supposed to look. She had no idea. So she stood there, staring at it, for a good two minutes before he laughed. "It's not lethal,"

She looked up at him, then back down to the apple. Shrugging, she took a bite. It was the most delicious apple she had ever had. "Is it good?" He asked. She nodded, swallowing another bite. Even though she would hate to admit it, she'd been hungry long before he had handed her the piece of fruit. He wryly smiled, and started to eat his own apple.

Marlene absentmindedly looked around herself as she finished her small meal. Now that her eyes had completely adjusted, she could see that they were on an island of sorts; a thin pathway linked them to the rest of the cave.

Small tunnels with slightly varied tones of light were also visible. The water reflected the light of the materia, making everything seem to glow. It was beautiful.

But it wasn't really a home. Not to her, at least.

"What do you want with me?" She finally brought herself to ask. "I need you as my bait," He simply replied, and flashed a grin in her direction. "Bait?" She asked herself quietly. "Yes, bait." He answered her question. She stared at him.

She supposed it made sense, but then again, it didn't, not really. If it had been Cloud, or anyone in the van that he had wanted, he would've already gotten to them, right?

"What are you trying to catch?" She asked him. He laughed. "Well put. But I can't exactly tell you." She sighed. "I guess you don't tell the worm what type of fish you're trying to get, do you?" He nodded. "But you aren't a worm, so that doesn't apply to you."

"So," She prodded. "Tell me then." He shook his head. She huffed. He suddenly looked up, at the sky. "I beg your pardon, I'm going to have to leave for a few hours."

His huge black wing unfurled. "I will be back."

She stared at the feathers his wing left on the water, and then knelt down to pick one up, curious. It was as soft and light as any other feather she had picked up before; not that she'd picked that many up, having lived in the city most of her life. She examined it more closely, but found nothing to intrigue herself with. She sighed, and headed to explore more of the cave.

She'd put it down too soon to notice a thick black substance that held to the end of that particular feather. After she had tossed it down, it slowly slid its way onto the bare ground, and stayed there, waiting.

Denzel took a drink of his coffee and looked outside, where Cloud was talking with Tifa. He seemed distraught, and Denzel couldn't blame him, after what they had just heard from Reeve. "Denzel!" Shelke called. He looked over to see the girl. "Hey Shelke, how's it going?"

She sat down in the chair next to him, and glanced out to see Cloud and Tifa talking. "If you just talked to Reeve, then I think you know." He let out a sarcastic laugh. "And I thought it was bad enough when Marlene got kidnaped." She frowned. "We are doing our best to find her." He looked over at her. "I know, thanks. But you're sure you know who's taken her?"

She nodded. "Positive." Denzel thought for a little while. "What would he want with her?" Shelke shrugged. "We aren't quite sure. His history has been very well hidden, and as such we are having difficulties finding out anything about him, let alone what intentions he may have for kidnaping Marlene." He took another sip of his coffee, saying nothing.

"We have a lot more to worry about now though." She continued. He nodded, agreeing. "A lot." He looked back outside, and saw Mai speaking with Cloud and Tifa. Tifa pointed at the entrance to the bar, and she nodded, thanking them.

She came in the front door. "Denzel?" He got up, and headed over to see her. "Hey," She gave him a tight hug. "Hey." He lightly patted her back. "What is it?" She stepped back. "I heard about what happened to Marlene. I'm really sorry." He frowned. "Who told you?"

Mai slightly smiled. "Well, Reeve told me." He shook his head. "I knew it." She put her hands on her hips. "What? He is my adoptive father you know," Denzel nodded. "Yeah I know. But does that mean he tells you everything that goes on?" She solemnly nodded.

"Hi Mai," Shelke waved. Mai smiled. "Hey Shelke, long time no see." Shelke got up and walked to the front door. "It has been a while, hasn't it." She stood by Mai and looked up at the taller girl. "But I'm afraid I can't stay to talk, I have some errands to run for your father. I'll be back later, I suppose." She waved again, and walked out the front door.

"Where's Red?" Mai asked. Denzel shrugged. "I don't really know. I think Cid was going over to Cosmo Canyon to see if he could get him to come and help out." Mai then took Denzel's had into her own. He slightly gasped, not enough for her to notice though, and looked down at their hands.

"I'm really worried," She admitted. He nodded. "Me too." She put her head on his shoulder. Tifa and Cloud came in. "Denzel?" Tifa asked. He nodded, gently pulling away from Mai's grasp. "We've decided how we're going to go about this." Cloud picked up his sword and placed it behind his back. "Me, Barrett, and Vincent are going to go and look for Marlene."

"What about me?" Denzel asked. "You're staying here with me and everyone else." Tifa answered. He shook his head. "No." Cloud looked over at him, slightly surprised. He raised a blonde eyebrow. "We want you to be safe."

"What's the point of me being safe when Marlene is in danger?" Denzel asked, getting upset. "The point is that we don't lose another part of our family. And if we lose you while trying to rescue Marlene, it could be permanently." Cloud curtly replied.

Denzel took a deep breath, and thought for a moment. "Alright. But I think that I'd be of more help than you'd expect." "What are you talking about?" Mai asked. Denzel smiled and pulled a small piece of dark blue materia out of his pocket. "I think I may know how to find her."

She gasped, coughing for air, and stumbled out of her stasis tube, falling onto bits of broken glass that pierced her bare knees. Grunting in pain, she quickly pulled out the larger pieces. After she had finished this, she looked around for anything that might be suitable for clothing.

She spotted a uniform laying on a nearby table, and slipped into it as quickly as she could. Although she hated these uniforms, wearing one was still better than wearing nothing at all. She tried to access one of the computers, but it wouldn't respond. She glared at it, and swiftly crushed it with a single punch. Those things had never been reliable.

Running down the familiar, but unusually empty hallways, she briefly wondered what had happened. But, as long as all the ones who had done this to her were dead, and out of her way, she decided it didn't matter. She finally reached the control room, and tried tapping into the main computer console. This time the computer responded.

She glanced at the date for a split second, than stared at it. Seven years? Anger flared up inside of her. She had been kept in stasis for seven years. Not bothering to look up what she had originally meant to, she closed her eyes, muttered a few words, then blasted the control room to pieces.

She smiled, pleased with the results of her spell. Then she ran out, in search of a weapon. She went to the armory, and found what she was looking for. Smiling, she ran her hand over the smooth blade. She slipped it onto her back, and was off once again.

She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, reaching her destination quickly.

Slowly, she stepped up to the stasis tube. She smiled, and quickly put in the combination to open the door. As soon as the door opened, the man inside fell, and she caught him in her arms. He started coughing up liquid mako almost immediately. "It is good to see you again," She told him. He looked up with light green eyes at the one who had woken him from his deep sleep.

Her long silver hair fell around her face in soft waves, and her eyes, filled with fierce determination, were a startling shade of green. More so, possibly, than his own.

"Sokira?" He asked, becoming more aware of his surroundings. Sokira smiled down at him. "I am glad you remember me, my little brother." She unfurled a magnificent black wing, and after blasting a hole through the ceiling, flew off into the darkness, carrying him with her.


	6. Chapter 6

Marlene peeked around the corner to make sure there weren't any monsters, and then quietly crept over to a desk recessed into the cave wall. There were various newspaper articles, and they all seemed to be at least fifteen years old. She quickly shuffled through them, eventually finding one that peaked her interest.

'Genesis Rhapsodos to be SOLDIER 1st Class' Was what the headline read. Skimming through the article, Marlene found a few interesting things about his history. He had been born and raised in Banora Village, along with his close friend, Angeal Hewley, who was also to become a 1st Class.

It went on to list the names of his parents, which she skipped. After that, she couldn't really find any interesting articles; most of the ones there were about his young love of Dumb Apples.

She sighed and placed them back in their original order. After looking around herself, and seeing several tunnels, she decided it would simply be best to go back to the main cavern; that way she wouldn't get lost and not know the way back in case some monsters attacked her. Although it seemed very peaceful here, she didn't want to risk it.

Fast walking back, she wondered how long she would be kept here. "Well, no use worrying about it," She told herself as she searched for a place to sleep. "I'll think about things tomorrow, after I've gotten some sleep." She found a decent spot, close to the tree, that was dry, and used her cardigan as a pillow.

She quickly drifted off after a very long day . . . .

She jerked up suddenly, annoyed at the sunlight that was shining in her eyes. She had had horrible dreams, and had slept horribly because of that. Footsteps neared her, and she looked up to see Genesis standing next to the edge of the water. "Good morning sleepy head," He said, seeming perfectly at ease.

She stood up slowly, sore from sleeping on the bare ground. He turned around, and she gasped. His clothes had been torn, and ripped off in some places. There was a large gash on one of his fore arms, and cuts and purple blotches were everywhere else his skin was visible. Dark circles were set beneath his eyes, as he had clearly gone without sleep.

Essentially, he looked horrible.

"Good . . . morning?" She replied. He simply turned back to the water, looking up at the sky. She cautiously stepped closer to him, and tried to see what he was looking at so intently. She couldn't find anything. "What happened to you?" She asked, the curiosity killing her.

He shook his head, and took off his overcoat. He looked at her sadly. "Nothing that you need to know." She huffed and watched as he slowly walked over to sit next to the apple tree. He slowly slid down, his eyes closed from exhaustion.

An idea slowly crept into Marlene's mind, and though she tried to shake it off, it remained. She quietly walked over to where he was apparently sleeping. She took a closer look at his wounds, and grimaced. She looked around for any sort of bandage, and, finding none, looked at her own cardigan in despair. It was a nice cottony material, and would do fine as a bandage.

Walking away so that the ripping sounds would not bother his sleep, she slowly dipped the strips of material in the water, so that they would be decently clean. She snuck back, and attempted to start putting on the bandages. His arms twitched as the material touched the largest wound, but his breathing stayed steady.

After she was satisfied with her nursing job, she glanced up to see his blue eyes watching her. "Why are you helping me?" He quietly asked. She took a moment to catch her breath. He had startled her. Then, she shook her head. "I don't know." She got up and walked towards the water. "I think it's just a problem I have. I can't stand to see anyone in pain."

He chuckled. She turned around to look at him. "What?" He simply chuckled again, and drifted back to sleep.

Denzel grinned, sensing victory. Tifa looked over at Cloud. "Well, what do you say now?" Cloud's face had returned to an emotionless glare that Denzel hadn't seen in a long time. "Looks like we're going to have to bring you along, Denzel." He turned towards the exit. "If you're absolutely sure you can't just give us that piece of materia . . ." He stormed off, going in the direction of where Vincent was staying.

"Well, he's not too happy," Tifa stated the obvious. Denzel still retained his grin, and she smiled wryly at him. "You're getting to be just as stubborn as he is, you know." He put the precious materia back into his pocket. "Yeah, I do." Mai hopped up and hugged him. "Well if it gets Marlene back, I'm all for it!"

Denzel lightly patted her on the back, feeling incredibly awkward. Tifa winked at him, then pulled out her cell phone to inform everyone of the new plan. He rolled his eyes and pulled away from Mai once again. "So when are you leaving?" She asked, not at all deterred. He shrugged. "Sometime after dark I guess," He looked over to a small bag next to the entrance. "My stuff's already ready to go."

She smiled. "So you have some free time?" He shrugged again. "I guess I do." She grinned and hopped up excitedly. "Perfect! Let's go do something, ok?" She took hold of his hand and dragged him toward the door. He nodded, thinking that he didn't really have much of a choice in the first place.

"So where are we going?" He asked as she quickly pulled him through the streets. "You'll see," She excitedly replied, not pausing.

A few minutes later, they reached the town square, which was now all but deserted. Most of the people there were simply off duty WRO members. Mai pulled Denzel past the monument that Shin-Ra had put up.

Into a small residence, and onto the roof. She hopped over to the edge facing away from the city, and sat down. He went to sit by her, watching what she was.

"Isn't it beautiful?" She asked, and grinned over at him. He stared out over the plains, where the sun was setting. He nodded. "Yeah," She looked back over to the sunset. "I come here a lot. It's a good place to think." He nodded again.

"Denzel?" She asked, so quietly he almost didn't hear her. He looked over at her. "Yeah?" Her face was disconcertingly sad. "What's wrong?" He asked, worried. She turned away and stared out over the plains. "Don't get killed, ok?"

"Trust me, I wasn't planning on it." He answered, still looking at her. She turned back to him. "It's just, four years ago, during the attacks from Deep Ground, I thought that Reeve had died. I didn't know him that well yet, but it was really hard. I can't imagine losing you."

"You won't." Denzel reassured her. "I'll be fine, don't worry." It was disturbing, honestly, to see her be this sad again. He didn't like it at all. She slightly smiled, much to his relief. "You willing to make that a promise?" He nodded, and her smile became slightly less forced.

"Alright. It's a promise." He made it official. Mai smiled, _really_ smiled at him. "Ok then. Now what should we do next?" The sun had almost completely set. She hopped up. "How much time do we have left?" He got up and she took his hand into hers. "Cloud said sometime after dark, so about an hour."

"Well that settles it then," She stated. "Huh?" He asked as she started leading him back to the streets. "We're going to get some ice cream." She replied, a laugh dancing in her eyes. He smiled, relieved that she was back to her happy self.

They reached the ice cream shop quickly, as she had half-way skipped the entire way there. They greeted the server, and Denzel watched, amused, as she excitedly pointed at all the new flavors. She ended up settling on three scoops, each a questionable sounding flavor. He simply had one scoop of chocolate.

"Do you know how long you'll be gone?" She asked as she started to eat her ice cream. He shook his head as he took a bite of his cone. "I really don't know. Probably not too long. Cloud doesn't want to be gone for too long, in case something were to happen to," He stuttered over Marlene's name, "Tifa." He finished, not without difficulty.

Mai looked down. "Yeah, that makes sense." She got up, carrying her unfinished ice cream with her. "Let's head back, ok?" He looked up at her and nodded. She once again took his hand in hers, and gently squeezed it. He walked silently beside her as they made their way back to Seventh Heaven.

They walked in to a surprising sight; Tseng, Reno, Rude, and Elena were all conversing with Reeve. Shelke, Cloud, Barrett, Vincent, and Tifa were also there, mostly watching Reeve hold a polite conversation with The Turks.

Reeve glanced over at them as they walked in the door, but didn't pay much attention to them, so they snuck around to stand next to Shelke. "What are they doing here?" Mai asked. Shelke turned toward her. "They are here by Reeve's request. He wants to create a temporary alliance with them,"

"Until the threat is taken care of, right?" Denzel asked, slightly interrupting her. She raised a brow, but nodded, saying nothing else. A few moments later, Reeve and The Turks stood up; Reeve shook Tseng's hand, and the rest of The Turks quickly followed.

"It would seem that his negotiations have succeeded," Shelke commented. Mai nodded. Denzel looked over at Cloud and Tifa, and Cloud caught his gaze. He stood up and gave Tifa a swift but seemingly passionate kiss. Barrett and Vincent noticed, and straightened up.

Denzel looked over at Mai. "Looks like it's time for me to go," She nodded, and went with him to the door. She watched as he helped load things into Barrett's van, and after he had said goodbye to everyone but her, she approached him.

He turned around quickly when she tapped his shoulder. "Yeah?" She simply pulled him into a hug, holding him close for a few moments. He placed his arms around her and set his head on hers. Then she pulled away, her blue eyes seeming a bit more shiny than usual.

"Don't forget, you promised," She half-way teased him. He smiled, set a hand on her shoulder. "I won't." She smiled, a hopped up to kiss his cheek. "Ok then, I'll see you later." He stood there, surprised for a few moments. Then he blushed, and grumbled some sort of awkward goodbye. He lumbered into the back seat of the van, and waved goodbye to everyone one more time.

"Awright!" Barrett started to tease, "Look who's popular with the ladies!" Denzel attempted to get the stupid pink out of his face. "Shut up," He muttered. Vincent and Cloud chuckled quietly.


	7. Chapter 7

"Wake up little brother," Sokira's voice called. She was silent for a moment, but called again. "Wake up." His eyes flew open, and he took a deep breath. He saw her smiling down at him, her eyes glinting. "Good, you are awake." She set him down, letting his back rest against something. "We are here,"

She walked toward his right. He got up, leaning against a tree for support. She stood on the edge of a pool of water, her arms set on her hips. He walked over to stand next to her, and realized where they were.

The City of the Ancients.

He looked into the water. "Why did you bring me here?" She smiled at him and started walking somewhere. "You will see soon enough." "Sokira," He growled at his older sister. She stopped walking away and turned to face him. "You will see." She repeated.

"Do you know why they took me away brother?" She asked, pacing on the very edge of the water. He shook his head. "They never told me why." She nodded, the strange smile still on her lips. "They took me away because I realized what I am, and what you are.

"They lied to us brother, they lied about everything." She answered. He shook his head again, confused. "What we are?" Sokira stopped walking. "Everything," She repeated softly, and unfurled her wing. He staggered back.

She turned to him, a twisted expression of anger and joy on her face. "Do you even know why they called you Sephiroth?"

Genesis had been sleeping for a long time, and Marlene had become incredibly bored. Since she was still tired, she decided that a nap couldn't hurt anything.

Her dreams were black, and the darkness filled the air like fog around her. It forced her eyes to shut, and made her breathing difficult. Staggering, and not sure where she was supposed to go, Marlene caught a glimpse of something bright. It vanished after a split second.

She forced herself to walk toward it. After what seemed like hours of fighting the black fog, she caught another glimpse of the light. She managed to run towards it. She didn't care what it was. She didn't care who might be waiting there for her. She just ran.

"Hey, wake up." Genesis commanded. She opened her eyes with a start, and jumped up. She looked up at him with frightened eyes. "You must've been having quite the dream," He muttered, and turned away.

She took a few breaths, trying to shut the fresh memory from her mind. But something suddenly caught in her throat and she coughed it up. Genesis turned to face her again at the sound. After she had managed to stop coughing, Marlene stared down at the ground in disgust and horror.

She had coughed up black mucus.

"You're not getting sick, are you?" Genesis asked, a look of slight concern on his face. She looked up at him from the ground, her eyes wide. "I think I might." He tossed a canteen in her direction. "Then get better." He commanded.

Marlene caught the canteen, and looked back up at him as he unfurled his black wing. "I can't stay to make sure you stay alive." He turned to her. "You'll be alone again for today." He jumped up, and flew off.

She watched him fly off, and started coughing again. She tried to take a sip of what was in the canteen, but it burned her throat, and she coughed it back up. She sat back down, shaking, and the darkness pulled her to sleep again.

Denzel pulled the materia out of his pocket, and saw its luminescence fade slightly. His brows furrowed. He stared at it for a few more moments, then put it back in his pocket. He looked up and saw Vincent watching him.

"What is it?" He asked. Denzel leaned back. "I don't really know," He responded. Vincent said nothing, and turned toward the front seat. "How close are we?" Cloud shrugged as he drove. "About thirty minutes left, I think." Silence filled the car again, except for the squeaking of the windshield wipers, and Barrett punched the radio. It started with a loud pop.

"In other news, the Village of Wutai has closed its doors to tourists—" A announcer began, before Barrett could change the station. "Looks like they got our message," Vincent commented. "I don't think Yuffie's very happy about going back," Denzel said.

Vincent slightly smiled. "She's not very happy about anything unless it was her idea." "Aint that the truth," Barrett said, still shuffling through radio stations. Cloud said nothing, focusing on driving through the rain.

The rest of the drive passed slowly.

By the time they reached Wutai, the rain's relentless downpour had intensified, hammering on the roof of the car like hail. Denzel jumped out of the back, running to stand under the front porch where Yuffie was waving wildly.

"Oh my gosh Denzel! I've never seen the rain pour like this!" She yelled so that he could hear her over the rain, though her regular voice probably would've been fine. He nodded. "It's really coming down." Vincent, Cloud, and Barrett all half jogged through the rain to the front porch. "We're gonna have to stay the night Yuffie, until the rain dies down." Cloud informed her.

"Alright," She opened the front door and ran in excitedly, leaving them on the front porch for a split second. Then she reappeared in the door. "Come on in!" They walked in after her, shaking off the drops of water that still clung to their clothes.

Yuffie's cat promptly hissed and ran off after some water had fallen on its fur. Denzel slightly chuckled, but hid his grin after Cloud gave him a rebuking look. Yuffie came running out of the kitchen with a tray of mugs. "I made hot chocolate when I heard you guys were coming," She set the tray down on the coffee table and motioned for the four men to sit down. "Enjoy yourselves while the cookies finish up!"

"Cookies?" Vincent asked, still standing. Yuffie put her hands on her hips. "Yes, cookies. Now sit down, and enjoy your hot chocolate." Vincent raised a brow, but did as she ordered, sitting down and picking up a mug from the tray. She smiled, content that he had done as she had said, and ran back into the kitchen.

Denzel took a drink of his hot chocolate as Cloud set his mug back down and leaned back into the sofa. "Are you sure that we're going the right way?" Denzel looked over at the older man. "Almost positive."

"Well, I guess the best we can do is keep heading out in this direction until we find her," Barrett said, setting down an empty mug. "Seems like that's the plan." Vincent said, cautiously taking a sip of the liquid.

Denzel pulled the materia from his pocket again, and ran a thumb over its smooth surface as its shine faded a little more.

"They called me Sephiroth because that is my name!" He shouted back, slightly frightened by his sister's behavior. "No!" She shouted, angry. "We are the only remnants, all that is left of their legacy. You cannot tell me you have forgotten!"

"I don't even know what you're talking about!" He cried. "You are his clone, Sephiroth, his _being. _You hold all of his strengths, and the ability to carry out his goals." She replied. Sephiroth's breathing slightly escalated. He was a clone?

"And what are you?" He asked, keeping himself composed. Sokira smiled at him. "I am the embodiment of our mother. I am what happened when they combined her remaining pieces with a lifeless corpse." She started pacing along the side of the water again. "Of course when I found out about that the Restrictors weren't very pleased; they took me away before I could tell you the truth."

"I see," He commented, carefully watching as she stepped farther and farther away from him. "And for seven years they separated us," She sadly said, staring at the reflection of her wing in the water. "For seven years they have kept you from the truth." Sephiroth waited until she had paused on the far edge, and then quickly turned and ran away from where she was standing.

He wasn't sure where he would go. He wasn't sure if he could even get away from her, if she could truly fly. He just knew that he needed to get away from Sokira. So he sprinted through the glowing trees of The Forgotten City, not caring as various tree branches and shrubs scratched his face and arms.

He was a Deep Ground SOLDIER, scratches never bothered him in the first place. Soon he reached a road, and for a split second he caught his breath, deciding which way he should go. After deciding, he promptly went off of the road and continued his sprint. He glanced up in the sky to see a dark shadow fly overhead, and turned sharply to the left, bursting into another clearing.

He jumped across it quickly, knowing that he needed to stay under cover. After he had reached the forest again, he heard the sound of cars nearby. He quickly ran in that direction, and once he had reached the highway, he caught a ride on a old truck.

The old man who was driving mentioned something about heading to Wutai, but Sephiroth was half asleep in the truck bed by the time he had mentioned anything.

The man who was driving shrugged to himself as he saw the young man collapse behind him, and reminded himself to stop taking on hitch hikers.

Denzel and Cloud went to load the van back up the next morning, and saw an old truck driving into town. Denzel noticed Cloud staring at it. "What is it?" He asked, curious. Cloud shook his head. "Nothing, I just thought that it looked familiar." He turned his attention back to hauling Barrett's huge bag into the van.

"Thank you for the ride," A strangely familiar voice called, and Cloud's head jerked up to look in that direction. "What?" Denzel asked again, looking in the same direction. "I know that voice," Cloud snarled.

Sure enough, a young man with long silver hair jumped off of the back of the truck. Cloud picked his sword up out of the back of the van, and started walking over to approach him. "Sephiroth!" He screamed. The man whirled around in time to see Cloud lunge at him. He dodged the blow, and Cloud quickly turned to face his enemy.

"What are you doing here?" He growled. Sephiroth stared at him blankly. "Answer me!" Cloud screamed. "Who are you?" Sephiroth asked. Cloud pointed his sword at the other man's throat. "Like you don't know,"

Sephiroth did nothing to fight back. "I don't." He insisted. Cloud glared at him, expecting an outburst of laughter any second. But Sephiroth didn't move. He simply stared back, seeming confused. "You don't know who I am?" Cloud finally asked, his tone bitter.

Sephiroth shook his head. Cloud slightly lowered his sword. "Come with me." He lowered his sword and jumped to grab Sephiroth's arms and hold them behind his back. "You're not getting away again."


	8. Chapter 8

Sephiroth didn't try to fight back as the strange blonde haired man hauled him into the large pagoda. Even though he didn't like it, he knew the last thing he needed was to draw unnecessary attention to himself. A man wearing a red cape was the first to notice him, and the others, a large black man, and a younger woman, were quick to follow.

All of their faces were full of shock and confusion, and he became frustrated. Why were they reacting to him this way?

He was roughly set down on a chair, and the blonde man stayed behind him. A teenage boy came inside a few seconds later, his unintentional glare focusing on Sephiroth.

"Sephiroth?" The man in the red cape asked. Sephiroth looked in his direction, and realized he was not the one being spoken to. "The hell is he doin' here?" The large man asked. The woman stayed silent, though Sephiroth could practically see the excitement and anger she was holding inside.

"Well Sephiroth," The blonde man started, "What are you doing here?" Sephiroth shook his head. "First tell me who you are, and then I will consider it." "You don't know?" The teenager asked, seeming surprised. In fact, they all seemed equally surprised to hear him say that.

"I don't." Sephiroth answered a second time, and sighed. This was getting old quickly. "Well, to refresh your memory," The blonde said bitterly, "My name is Cloud Strife." He looked over at the others in the room. The woman jumped up and down. "Yuffie Kisaragi, The Single White Rose of Wutai! The–"

"Vincent Valentine." The red caped man said, interrupting her. He looked over at her disdainfully, then his gaze refocused on Sephiroth. "Denzel," The teenage boy said simply. "The hell do I need to tell him for?" The larger man asked. After a swift glare from Cloud, his name came out. "Barrett Wallace."

"Remember us now?" Cloud asked. Sephiroth shook his head. "No, I've never seen you before in my life." Cloud grumbled something under his breath. "Alright then. What are you doing here?" Sephiroth caught a glance of Cloud's vivid blue eyes, the shade of blue only mako could create.

"You are a SOLDIER?" He asked, slightly surprised. Cloud's anger only intensified. "No." Sephiroth looked away, but was still curious. Someone knocked at the door, and a cat somewhere in the house hissed.

Yuffie groaned, but went to get the door. "Wait," Cloud stopped her. "We don't know who that could be." She turned to look at him, and winked, grabbing hold of a large shuriken before she opened the door.

She opened the door a crack. "Hello?" Her voice was suddenly hoarse. "Are you not feeling well?" The voice of an older man replied. "No, I'm afraid you'll have to come back sometime later," She said, using the same voice. "I see, I hope you recover soon." The unwelcome visitor said, and she shut the door.

"See Cloud? No big deal!" She put her hands on her hips, obviously proud of herself. Cloud started to say something when someone knocked on the door again. Yuffie huffed and turned around to get the door again. She had barely turned the handle when a strong kick from the other side knocked the door down. Everyone jumped to attention as Sokira walked into the room and quickly spotted Sephiroth.

He quickly stood up, his stance defensive. "Sephiroth," She said sweetly, "Why are you here?" Sephiroth said nothing as the others grabbed their weapons and prepared to fight. Cloud stepped in front of her. "Who are you?"

She turned her ice cold glare in his direction. "My name doesn't matter," She replied, her voice somehow still holding the same sweet tone. She looked back over to Sephiroth. "Come with me." He stood where he was. "No."

Her smile turned into a scowl. "Yes. Now come." He shook his head. "No, I won't." She pulled a sword off her back. She took a step toward him. Cloud held his huge sword up to her. "One more step and you've crossed the line." She leaned her head to one side, and took a step to the side. He followed, watching her.

"What do you want with my brother?" She asked, taking another casual step to the side. "Your brother?" Vincent asked, pointing a gun in her direction. She sighed, and took a small step forward. "Yes, my brother. What do you want with him?"

Cloud's grip on his sword tightened. "We don't have to answer to you." She sighed. "Very well then," Holding her sword with both hands, she swiftly charged past Cloud, knocking over a sofa. Vincent shot her several times, but she managed to deflect the shots with her sword. She took Sephiroth by his arms.

She held her sword to his throat. "If you try to take him from me I will slit his throat." Slowly, she stepped forward. Sephiroth reluctantly stepped forward with her. The others still held their weapons toward her, but made no move to attack.

Sokira smiled, and slightly loosened her grip on him. However, she couldn't see that Sephiroth held on his face as she did that. He broke free of her grasp, and took Cloud's sword.

He turned and caught a view of her face. She was angry, that was obvious, but there was something else hidden underneath the anger. Betrayal? She held her sword up to meet his. "I don't want to have to do this, little brother."

"Then leave." He replied. "I won't leave you here," She insisted. And then, suddenly, something hit the back of her head, and she dropped her sword, falling forwards into Sephiroth's arms. Sephiroth glared up at the teenager who had used the hilt of Vincent's gun to knock her out.

"Sorry," He started to apologize, handing the gun back to its original owner. Sephiroth glanced down at the unconscious woman in his arms. She wouldn't be out for long. "Would you like to explain what the hell is going on here?" Barrett asked, and Sephiroth noticed that his mechanical hand had been transformed into a machine gun.

Sephiroth set Cloud's sword down and supported Sokira with both arms. She awoke a few moments later. She held the back of her head for a split second, and glared knowingly at the teenage boy. Then she looked up at Sephiroth. "I'll be back for you."

She stood straight, grabbing her sword, and blasted a hole straight through both stories of the pagoda. She unfurled her black wing, and flew off.

"Oh my god!" Yuffie said, frustrated. "How am I going to get that fixed?" All the eyes in the room turned to her in disbelief. She shrugged. "What?"

Cloud swiftly picked his sword back up and held it to Sephiroth's chest. "Now, would you like to explain what the hell is going on here?"

Marlene woke up in a cold sweat, and slowly pushed herself up to lean against the tree. Her coughing had not improved, although she had finally managed to force herself to drink the horrible liquid Genesis had given her. She briefly wondered how long it would be before her skin started to blotch.

If she was right about what she had, at least. But how could she have Geostigma? She would've gotten it along with Denzel five years ago if she had Jenova cells inside of her. She leaned her head back, trying to clear her mind.

A soft thud sounded close to her, and she opened her eyes to see Genesis had come back. "How are you doing?" He absentmindedly asked. She took a deep breath. "Not that great." He shook his head and started walking alongside the water's edge.

She stared up at him. "What's wrong?" He continued to walk, not turning around to face her. "There have been," He thought for a moment. "Complications." Marlene looked back down, understanding what he meant. "Oh."

She took a breath, and stood up. "Complications involving me?" Genesis looked down at her, slightly amused. He said nothing. She shook her head. "Why won't you tell me?" The combination of being held hostage and developing this sickness had caused her patience to grow thin.

"Because it's not your place to know." He replied, a darkness in his voice that frightened her. She stepped back, and hit the tree with the back of her head. "Ow," she muttered, and reached up to rub her head. He smiled and turned away.

She sunk down to the ground again. She took off her necklace and smiled as the pendant glowed brightly, lighting up the inside of her hands.

At the same time in Wutai, Denzel pulled out his materia, and saw its shine fade ever so slightly more.


	9. Chapter 9

Genesis suddenly turned around to face her. She looked up at him and swiftly put the necklace in its proper place. "Come with me," He told her, holding out a red gloved hand to help her up. She stared at his hand. "Why?"

"You wanted to know about the complications?" He let his question ring in the air, echoing through the cavern. She looked up at his sky blue eyes, and took his hand slowly. He dragged her up off of the ground, and started walking into one of the tunnels she had not dared to explore yet.

And she had explored a lot of them.

He walked almost too quickly for her, every one of his footsteps requiring two of hers, but she said nothing about it. She simply let him pull her deeper into the cold darkness. The silence was almost unbearable for her, she had been alone for far too much time here.

Though she hated to admit this to herself, she actually enjoyed it when Genesis was around. It was simply nice to not be alone. Something caught in her throat again, but it wasn't the black mucus that had been plaguing her.

She was realized she was about to cry. So she took a deep breath quickly— too quickly. His footsteps slowed. "Do you need me to carry you?" His velvet voice teased her. She shook her head, clearing her throat. "No." He sped up again, not saying anything else. And then, slowly at first, the tunnel started to glow.

The damp walls of earth gave way to what seemed to be concrete, and the floor evened out, helping her to balance and keep up with Genesis more easily. Their footsteps, his heavy and solid, hers light and clumsy, echoed through the part of the cavern that they were in.

Then she saw it. A large tube filled with glowing green liquid— liquid mako. He let go of her hand, and she slowly stepped closer to the stasis chamber.

Rubbing her hand against the dusty glass, she revealed a face. It was a young face, pale and still. She realized that the boy inside of this tube couldn't be much older than she was.

And around his sleeping face were wisps of raven black hair.

"His clone?" Cloud asked, disbelief sounding in his voice. "Well," Yuffie said, drawing out the word to add unnecessary emphasis, "His story is sorta believable . . ." "It makes sense," Vincent added.

Denzel sat leaning forward on the sofa, taking in everything he had just heard and seen. The woman wrecking Yuffie's home and taking off on a magnificent black wing.

The man who had destroyed his childhood sitting in front of him and claiming he hadn't done anything. And the others actually believing his story.

"Well I ain't believin' nothin' until I see some proof!" Barrett declared. Denzel smugly grinned and mentally agreed with him. "Sadly I have none to give." Sephiroth responded. Denzel looked in his direction.

The face he saw was not what he remembered. The face he remembered from his nightmares was different, twisted with mad joy. The man sitting down and speaking with them seemed to be perfectly sane. He was conversing calmly with the people who held him hostage, occasionally glancing upwards and grimacing at the damage his 'rescuer' had caused.

"What do you think Denzel?" Cloud asked, and Denzel leaned back. "I think we should talk with Reeve and the others about it before we do anything drastic—such as take Sephiroth at his word." He cast a quick glance in the direction of the silver haired man.

His expression was one of cool agreement. "But what about Marlene?" Yuffie asked sadly. Cloud looked down apologetically in Denzel and Barrett's direction. "I'm sorry, but she'll have to wait a few more days."

"Marlene?" Sephiroth asked, genuine curiosity in his features. "My baby," Barrett responded, seemingly out of reflex. His frown and worry lines deepened as he finished the phrase. "She was kidnaped several days ago, by a man we know as Genesis." Vincent finished.

Sephiroth stiffened. "You know him?" Cloud asked. Sephiroth nodded. "Sort of." There was a sarcastic tone in his voice that told Denzel he was biting his tongue. Cloud apparently noticed it too, because he narrowed his eyes at the man in front of them.

He turned around to face Yuffie, though. "Call Cid and get us a ride to Edge, I'll take care of letting the others know what's going on."

Denzel noticed, with a sad sort of humor, that none of them were really sure what WAS going on here.

"Who is this?" Marlene asked, concern and curiosity building up inside of her. "An old friend of mine," Genesis answered, sounding slightly annoyed. She looked up from the sleeping face to Genesis. "He seems a bit young for that."

Genesis simply chuckled and started to press buttons on the machinery. "What are you doing?" She asked. The smile on his face faded. "Do you always have to know everything that's going on?" She sheepishly looked down at her feet.

Something inside the tube clicked, and the mako started draining away. "You're waking him up." She responded, not needing to ask to understand what was going on. "He's been causing me a lot of grief lately," Genesis said. "I decided that since he wanted to wake up so horribly, I would grant him that wish."

Slowly the liquid drained away from the tube, lowering until his face was free. And then, his eyes flashed open, and a vivid blue bored into her own brown eyes.

Her breathing slowly escalated as the boy in the tube didn't cease his stare. She wasn't quite sure why it did though. There was nothing angry or violent in his eyes, simply a curious gaze that probably matched her own.

She slowly came to realize that it was because she found his eyes beautiful. In the moment that she realized this, she quickly looked away, blushing.

Genesis stepped inbetween her and the stasis tube, punching a button on the side to make it open. The boy inside fell down into Genesis's arms, and the blue eyes, that still held Marlene in their gaze, drifted back to sleep.

"Welcome back, Zack Fair." Genesis said, bitterness in the edge of his voice.


	10. Chapter 10

Zack Fair.

The name hung in her consciousness for a long time, pulling at something she was sure she ought to remember. But she couldn't bring it to mind. She gritted her teeth in frustration and concentration, trying to remember.

Genesis had left her here with him, to 'make sure he didn't run off like a puppy when he woke up.' She sighed and placed her chin against her knees, which were folded up to her chest. He didn't seem like he was going to wake up any time soon.

Marlene looked once again at the calm face. Unsure of what to do, she felt his forehead, and his eyes flashed open once again, revealing the blue she had found so beautiful. He smiled up at her. "Hi," A sweet, teenage voice said, and she realized it had been his. She smiled back, an involuntary action. "Hi."

He moved one of his arms to take her hand off of his forehead. Then he sat up from the makeshift cot she had awkwardly made for him. He looked around the room briefly, but focused most of his attention on her.

He stood up, and so did she, remembering her duty. "What's your name?" He asked abruptly. She looked up at the taller boy; he was at least three inches taller than her. How was she supposed to keep him here again?

"Marlene Wallace." She answered. He stretched his arms out for a moment, then turned back to her. "Hi Marlene, my name is Zack Fair." She nodded. "I know." His lips pursed, and he turned to look again at the still dusty stasis tube.

"So I came outta this, huh?" He asked quietly. She nodded. He walked up and leaned against it. "So that's really what I am," He said, almost too quietly for her to hear. Then he turned away from the tube and smiled at her. "So what are you doing here?" She shrugged and looked down at her slightly bruised feet.

Wait, those weren't bruises, her skin was starting to blotch. Great. She looked back up and answered his question. "Not too much." There was an awkward moment of silence. "What are you doing here?" She finally asked. He half smiled at her. "Not too much."

He stepped around her to check out the exit, but she grabbed one of his surprisingly muscular arms. She ignored the muscles to the best of her abilities, and attempted to pull him back. As though she hadn't done a thing, he kept walking. And somehow, he pulled her along with him. "Hey!" She finally snapped.

Zack casually turned and lifted her off of his side. "What is it?" She marveled for a split second at how effortless that had been for him. "You're . . . You're not supposed to leave yet."

"Really? Why not?" He leaned his head to one side, his spiky black hair finally starting to dry. And then, he took one of her hands into his own, and started to pout.

She almost laughed. But she took a deep breath and shook her head. "I don't know. You just aren't." He made a face, and let down her hand. "Who says?" Marlene accidentally made a face of her own. "Genesis." His eyes widened. "Genesis Rhapsodos?" She nodded, and a strange look came into his eyes. "I see."

He took a gentle hold of her hands and started pulling her with him again. "Stop it!" She demanded, but he wouldn't listen. He continued pulling her along. Her feet started throbbing. "Wait, stop!" She demanded again. The pulsing pain amplified, and it was all she could do to not fall over. "Stop, you're hurting me!" She yelled.

Zack stopped immediately and let go of her hand. "Sorry," She sat down on a rock, and rubbed her ankles. He watched her with concerned eyes. "Are you ok?" He finally asked, and squatted down to see her face. She glanced up at him, and shook her head, turning back to her ankles. "Not really,"

"Where does it hurt?" He asked quietly. She looked up at him, and attempted to hide a blush that resulted from his continued gaze on her face. "Look, it's really considerate of you to ask, but I really don't think you can help me." He frowned, something that seemed out of character for him. "Alright."

He scooped her up in his sturdy arms and smiled at her. "I'll just have to carry you then." She gasped for air and looked up at his close face. "You will not!" He simply adjusted her within his grasp, and continued walking up toward the cavern.

Marlene was taken aback. She had thought that he would be strong, considering his muscular arms, but she had not expected him to actually be able to carry her. He seemed almost as strong as Genesis was. She sighed in despair, thinking of how Genesis would react when he saw that she had failed to keep Zack contained.

But, when they finally reached the open area, Genesis was nowhere to be found. Zack gently set her down next to the tree, and took an apple for himself. Then he sat down next to her. "So do you know of any way out of here?" She turned to look at him. "Aside from flying, not that I know of." He paused munching on his apple to face her. "Flying?"

Marlene closed her eyes and leaned her head back. Of course he was surprised by that, not everyone had wings. She nodded. "Genesis has a wing he uses to fly with." Zack set his legs out in front of him. "Just one wing?" She opened her eyes and nodded. He pursed his lips. "But that's not even possible," He muttered, and resumed eating his apple.

As if on cue, a dark shadow covered the opening of the cave, and Genesis landed, seeing the two teenagers sitting close to the tree. "I see that the puppy is awake," He commented. Zack took in the black wing, and winked at Marlene. "I still say it's impossible."

Denzel jumped off of the Shera's ladder, and onto the streets of Edge. The trip back to Edge with Sephiroth had been, at the very least, interesting. The silver haired man was pacing the deck the entire way there, seeming impatient. And strangely enough, Cloud had fallen instep beside him, conversing with him almost casually.

Denzel had once again been stuck with Yuffie for the ride, but this time, she had been unusually quiet, tensed because of Sephiroth's presence. Denzel was just thankful for the peace; he could hear his own thoughts for once.

"Denzel?" Mai's voice called. He turned to see her running toward him. "Oh my god, Denzel!" She screamed, and slammed into him. After they had both recovered from the impact, she hugged him. "I heard about what happened." He hugged her back. "Of course you did, Reeve's your dad."

"Is, is it really Sephiroth?" She asked, still holding her head against his chest. "It seems that way." He answered. She pulled back and saw the others climbing down the ladder. He followed her gaze to the silver hair lightly flowing in the breeze.

"Come on," He said, and grabbed her hand, pulling her away.

"Where are we going?" She asked, walking beside him. He shrugged. "Where do you want to go?" She thought for a little while. "You want any ice cream?" Denzel turned and smiled wryly at her. "Ice cream again?" She nodded enthusiastically. He smiled and adjusted the route they were taking.

"So have the past few days been?" Mai asked. "Hectic," He answered. She nodded. "It sounds like it." Denzel grimaced. "The worst part is that we didn't get a chance to even start looking for Marlene." Mai put her head on his shoulder. "You'll find her." He rested his head on hers for a split second.

"I hope you're right."

She pulled free and turned around to put her hands on her hips. "I know I am." Her phone momentarily buzzed. She took it out of her pocket and flipped it open, reading the text. "Reeve says we have forty minutes to do something, we'll have to head back after that." Denzel nodded and started walking again.

She twisted her fingers through his again, and they walked off to get their frozen treats.


	11. Chapter 11

Sokira landed in the Forgotten City, furious tears blurring her eyes. Why did he run from her, after all that she had done to be with him again? She limply sat down, leaning against a tree.

'He has betrayed us,' Jenova's sweet voice chimed in her head. She shook her head violently. "No, he wouldn't,"

'He has betrayed us, and now we must destroy him.' Jenova commanded. "No!" Sokira screamed. "I will not kill my brother!"

'He is not your brother any more. He betrayed you.' Jenova said sweetly. Sokira steadied her breathing and focused on her heartbeat. "He betrayed me."

'But soon, he will know the consequences for his mistake.' Jenova ordered once again. Sokira nodded and looked up at the full moon, speaking in unison with the voice in her head. "Soon, Sephiroth will die."

"Did you rest well?" Genesis asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Zack stood up, tossing the remains of his dumb apple into the water. "You should know better than me, shouldn't you?" Genesis chuckled. Zack rolled his eyes. Marlene attempted to stand up, and had to lean on the tree for support. Frustration flitted through her mind. Since when was she so weak? "No, I believe that you know just as well as I. After all, you were the one that insisted upon waking up." Genesis coolly commented. "You try being stuck in that thing for most of your life, and see how much you like it." Zack answered, sounding angry.

"I know what it is like to sleep for a long time," Genesis practically growled. "And my awakening was not something that I would've chosen." Zack stepped back. Marlene stepped up to stand next to him. "What are you two talking about?" Genesis shook his head. "Just a little reminiscing,"

Marlene huffed and rolled her eyes. "Obviously." Zack clenched his fists for a split second. She looked over at him, and saw his fingers twitch anxiously. "Ok, seriously. What's going on?" Genesis took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll tell you. Your new friend here," He gestured towards Zack, "Is a copy." "A copy?" Marlene asked, and then realized what he meant. "You mean, a clone?" Genesis nodded.

"No! I'm more than that!" Zack screamed. "I remember, I remember what my life was like in SOLDIER, I remember Angeal, my parents . . ." He trailed off for a second, then gave Genesis an ice cold glare. "And I remember _you_." Genesis shook his head, waving off Zack's glare. Then he thought for a moment. "I suppose you are more than a regular copy when I think it through, after all, most copies don't inherit the original's memory.

"In a way, you are very much a sixteen year old Zack Fair." Genesis said, casually taking steps closer to the tree. "But still, you are only a copy of the man I knew." Zack watched him as he jumped up to get an apple, and flew off once again.

Marlene turned to look at Zack, who still stood with his hands clenched. She had never met a clone before, and it hadn't even crossed her mind that he might be one. He just seemed so _real. _His eyes and his smile alone were enough to convince her that he was his own unique person.

"Are you really a clone?" She asked quietly. He nodded. "I guess so." He reached up and ran a hand through his spiky black hair. "So," She said, clearing her throat. He turned to face her. "So, nothing." A sad smile played through his features. "Tell me more about you."

She turned around to sit against the tree. "Like what?" He sat down next to her. "Well, whatever you feel like." She thought of a place to start, and began telling him about herself.

"Damn," Reno commented as Sephiroth walked into the W.R.O. Headquarters. Sephiroth turned a weary head in his direction, and Reno immediately shut his gaping mouth. Someone in the room chuckled, and oddly enough, it sounded like Cloud.

"So, you are Sephiroth." A man with dark hair said, holding out a hand to the stressed man. Sephiroth shook his hand. "Yes, and you must be Reeve." Reeve nodded. They both sat down. "Cloud told me your story," Reeve said coolly, "It's quite remarkable."

"Almost unbelievable." Reno said, crossing his arms. Reeve and Tseng cast a weary glance in his direction. "We find it hard to accept what you have said to be the truth," Tseng said while clasping his hands together.

"You see Sephiroth, the problem is not so much that we can't find any evidence to deny your claim, but that we can't find any evidence to support it." Reeve leaned back in his chair. "I can understand your skepticism." Sephiroth replied. "But what about my sister? Do you know anything about Sokira?"

The room stiffened, and Sephiroth knew that they did. "Please, tell me what happened to her," He almost pleaded. "You won't like the answer." Cloud answered. "I want to know." He insisted. "She found out how she was created, and Jenova seized control of her mind. Much like what happened to the original Sephiroth." Reeve replied.

"Just how was she created?" Sephiroth asked. Reeve shook his head sadly. "The Deep Ground scientists took the corpse of Sokira, who had been killed in action, and fused parts of Jenova onto where her own limbs had been blown off. Soon after the pieces had fully attached, the will of Jenova brought her back to life."

"So that's what happened," Sephiroth murmured, and leaned back in his chair.

Denzel and Mai burst through the door, and all eyes in the room turned to them. Denzel gave a slight wave. "Sorry we're late,"

"That's all right," Reeve smiled. "Find a place to sit." The teenagers nodded and did as he said.

"Well, Sephiroth, turning back to the matters at hand," Reeve started, "I'm afraid we're going to have to hold you here for the time being." He gave an apologetic smile. "But just until we know we can trust you, not any longer." Sephiroth nodded.

Reeve turned to Cloud, Barrett, Vincent, and Denzel, who were conveniently seated relatively close to each other. "As for the four of you, I think it's time you got back to finding Marlene." They nodded in agreement.

"Well, I believe that's everything." Reeve said, standing up. He shook Sephiroth's hand again. "It was a pleasure to meet you." But his smile was slightly forced, and Sephiroth knew that that was far from the truth.

What had he done to these people?

Marlene took a deep breath, refusing to wake up. Strangely, she had actually slept well that night. She snuggled closer to the warmth she had slept against.

She heard a heart beating, steady and strong. Shortly after she heard the heart beat, she realized that the warmth was moving up and down, in strong and steady breaths.

She opened her eyes, and looked up to see Zack's sleeping face. She didn't remember falling asleep with him the night before, she could only recall talking for hours. He muttered something in his sleep, but it was too slurred for her to make anything out.

She gently moved away, not wanting to wake him up. His eyes flew open, and she almost jumped. He smiled and yawned. "Good morning," She smiled back. "Good morning." He lifted his arm from around her shoulders to rub his eyes.

She took the chance to move away from him and stand up. She walked over to the water and knelt down, splashing it over her face. She breathed deeply, starting to fully wake up. She took another handful of water and brought it up to her face.

Zack knelt down next to her to feel the water. "Hm," He sighed, and stood back up. She looked up at him just in time to see him take off his shirt. She immediately jerked her head back down. He slowly waded into the water.

He turned to face her. "Would you like to join me?" She shook her head. "No, I think I'm fine." He started to pout. "Aw come on, please?" She shook her head a second time. "No." He waded back up to extend a wet hand towards her.

Marlene sighed. He wasn't going to give up, was he? She begrudgingly stood up. "Fine." She started walking into the cool water, ignoring his hand. He shrugged and followed her back into the water. "Do you always go swimming right after you wake up?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Nope." She raised a brow as the water reached her neck and she stopped moving forward. He noticed her expression as he waded farther down. "What? I haven't exactly bathed in a few years." She felt her eyes widen as that sank in. "Oh."

He dove under, coming back up after a few seconds, shaking out his hair. "The water's really nice, you should come all the way under," He commented. She shook her head. "I didn't even want to come out into the water in the first place."

"Aw come on," He said again. He swam closer to her, and tried to find some footing. After a few steps, he slipped, and she instinctively reached out to catch him. She realized that was a big mistake as he pulled her underneath with him.

She brought her head back up above the surface; he quickly followed, laughing. "Gotcha!" She opened her mouth to protest, then thought better of it, and pushed him back underneath. He came back up quickly, sputtering. She laughed, and he threw a splash in her direction. "That's not funny," He complained. Marlene pulled wet locks of hair out of her face. "Yes, it is."

"Alright then!" He yelled, and pulled her with him as he swam into the deeper water. She futilely resisted, and splashed him after he finally released her. "You want to have a splashing war?" He asked, laughing. She laughed along with him, splashing him again. He spat out the water that had gotten in his mouth. "Okay, you asked for it!"

A few hours later they were sleeping again, waiting to dry off.


	12. Chapter 12

Cloud and the others walked out of the bar to get to the van, and soon Mai and Denzel were the only ones there.

Mai threw her arms around Denzel. "Bye," She said, still clinging to him. He laughed. "Again." She let go, and started to step back, but something made Denzel cling to her shoulders. He stared down at her curious brown eyes, and started to feel funny inside.

"What is it Denzel?" She asked, her lips precariously arranged into a small smile. He shook his head, trying to sort out what was happening inside of it. "Denzel?" She asked again, looking concerned. She hesitantly placed a hand on one of his cheeks.

Denzel reached up and held it there. Slowly, cautiously, he leaned his head closer to hers. Something inside of him was telling him he needed to say a proper goodbye this time, as though he wouldn't be able to see her again after this.

She stared up at him, her cheeks almost crimson red. He smiled, the red complimented her face perfectly. Then he closed the rest of the distance between them, and gently pressed his lips against hers.

He felt her slowly wrap her arms around his neck as the kiss lasted much longer than he had intended it to. Finally she started to pull away, but she still held him close. "Thank you," She murmured into his chest.

He pulled her closer for a second, then stepped back. "I'll see you later." He kissed her forehead, and they walked out of the bar.

Denzel jumped into the back of the van, and waved goodbye once more to Mai.

"So where are we going this time?" He asked, looking at the map Barrett had pulled out to help Cloud with. "Our first stop tonight is the Village of Gongaga." Vincent answered. "We'll be resting there."

"Gongaga?" Denzel asked. "But isn't that where . . . ?" A silent nod from Vincent answered his question. "I see," He said, more to himself than to anyone else. Barrett punched the radio, and the four sat in silence.

When Marlene woke up, Zack was nowhere to be found. She sat down after searching, wondering whether or not that had just been a very strange, albeit realistic feeling dream. After a while, she heard something shriek. Shivers went down her spine and she jumped up, looking around.

Another shriek came, and, against her better judgement, she followed the sound. She precariously walked down the section of tunnel that it had originated from. A loud smack, as though something had snapped in two, rang through the tunnel, and she froze.

"Oh yeah!" Came Zack's voice, and she almost fell to the ground in relief. It hadn't been a dream, and there wasn't a monster coming after her. She quickly ran the rest of the distance between herself and Zack.

When she got to where he was, she couldn't believe her eyes. He stood with his hands on his hips proudly, surveying the huge behemoth he had just defeated. He turned when he heard the sound of her footsteps. "Oh, hey Marlene." He smiled and turned back to the monster. She came and stood next to him, noting that he had somehow obtained a rusty sword.

He said nothing else, simply staring down at the monster. "Um," Marlene started to ask. "What are you doing?" He glanced up at her and smiled, then turned back to watching it.

"I figured I'd learn from my original's mistakes. In my memories he was always turning his back on a foe that he assumed he'd beaten, but it would still be alive, and it would come back to kick his butt. So, I'm making sure this guy's dead, I guess." He replied with a small chuckle.

Marlene laughed. "That makes sense, I suppose." The giant form in front of her twitched, and she let out a small scream, moving to hide behind Zack. He took his sword and poked its stomach, but nothing happened. "No worries, it's normal for bodies to twitch you know," He laughed and stepped out from in front of her.

She nodded, amazed at how comfortable he seemed to be with the sword. "Sorry," She mumbled. He shrugged, still smiling. "It's ok. You aren't that used to this sort of stuff, I can tell." She rolled her eyes. "I'm more used to it than you probably expect, you know." He turned back to her, a black brow raised. "Is that so?"

She nodded again, unable to think of something that would even begin to explain. He shrugged again. "If you say so." He grabbed his sword and stepped closer to the beast, preparing to cut it into pieces. With a swift stroke, he lopped off its head. Marlene nearly doubled over in sickness at the sight.

He turned around. "What is it?" His voice sounded concerned. She simply took deep breaths, trying to ignore the smell of the blood, and pointed in the direction of the now dismembered corpse without looking up. "Oh," He said, understanding. "But I thought you just said you were used to that sort of stuff."

She slowly stood straight again, managing a upset smile. "'More used to it than you expect,' is what I believe I said." He shook his head. "Oh, sorry." He set the rusty, and now completely bloody, sword down, and held out his arm for her to take, as if he knew that it still hurt her to walk.

Marlene smiled and gratefully took it. He escorted her back up to the opening of the tunnel. "Would you mind making a fire or something?" He asked, tossing a box of matches her way. "I'm going to come back with some steak for us to cook." Zack grinned, and jogged back to the corpse.

She slightly twitched at the thought of him slicing into the behemoth's body, but quickly shoved the thoughts out of her mind and went about finding some wood to burn. Soon after she had gotten a decent fire going, Zack returned with two pieces of meat, one smaller than the other.

He took the sword, which he had apparently cleaned off, and stuck the two pieces onto it, holding them over the fire to cook. "Where did you find that sword?" She asked, curious.

"This?" He asked, looking at the metal object. "It was just sitting around in one of the caves." "Oh," She replied, supporting her face in her hands as she stared into the fire.

Marlene heard a quiet wing flapping, and looked up in time to see Genesis land close to them. The look on his face was urgent, and angry. He swiftly walked to where Marlene was sitting, and picked her up. Without saying a word, he flew her out of the cave and gently set her down. He went back, she assumed to get Zack.

After a few moments he returned, a struggling Zack in his grasp. "Let me go!" Zack complained. Genesis smirked. "Alright, I will." He dropped Zack, and the teenage boy landed with a very loud thump. Marlene helped him up, then turned to Genesis, who was fast walking out of the ruined village. "What's going on?" Genesis didn't stop walking, and said nothing.

"Hey!" Zack yelled, chasing after him. Marlene followed as quickly as she could. Zack caught up to him sooner than she did. "What's going on?" He repeated for her. Genesis pushed him back. "I'm making sure you stay alive. That's what's going on. Now keep quiet and follow me."

Zack turned to Marlene, and gave an exasperated shrug. Then he picked her up, causing a slightly surprised gasp to escape her lips, and he followed after Genesis.


	13. Chapter 13

Sokira softly landed close to her destination and slowly crept towards the light emanating from the ground. "Are you sure mother?" She asked, one last time. There was no response from the voice in her mind. "I'll believe that was a yes," She griped under her breath.

Once she reached the crevice in the ground, she easily jumped down and landed on the surface of the water. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly, and she went to examine the cavern. She walked closer to the tree, and wryly smiled as she saw dumb apples growing on it.

"That's just like you, isn't it?" She quietly said to herself, then moved on to see the remains of a fire; smoke was still coming from the ashes.

They couldn't be very far off.

"Where are we going?" Marlene asked, still being held by Zack, who showed no strain, though he'd been carrying her for at least thirty minutes. She'd insisted that he put her down, but he simply shook his head and reminded her of the last time she had tried to keep up with him.

"I have no obligation to tell you." Genesis said, seeming frustrated at their slow pace. "Geez," Zack muttered, ducking to avoid a low branch in the forest, "he's such a stiff." Marlene suppressed a giggle. "Wait," Genesis stopped and held out his arm to keep Zack from walking ahead. Zack nearly ran into his arm, but stopped himself.

"Get down," Genesis commanded, and Zack immediately dropped onto his back. Marlene realized he fell backwards so that she wouldn't be hurt when he dropped to the ground. He slightly grunted when his back hit the rocky ground, but after seeing that Marlene was alright, he smiled and kept quiet.

Genesis unfurled his wing. "What's out there?" Zack asked, his voice just above a whisper. Genesis summoned his sword, and it appeared with a red blaze in his hand. "I don't think you'd really like to know." His voice sounded like he was teasing them. From what Marlene could see of his face, however, he wore a very pronounced frown.

Something thumped onto the ground close to them, and Marlene looked up to see an eerily beautiful woman with a wing, just like Genesis'. Her face seemed calm, yet angry, and her eyes were a piercing pale green. Just like Sephiroth's.

Marlene shivered, and retreated closer to Zack, who was crouched on the ground next to her. "Who is she?" She asked, her voice slightly trembling. Zack placed a calm hand on her shoulder. "I don't know." Genesis ignored them and approached her. "Hello Sokira," The woman smiled, the expression somehow twisted when it was put on her face. "Hello Genesis."

"It's been a long time." Genesis said, and she chuckled, a slightly vicious sound. "Yes, it has been." Then weapons appeared in her hands. One was a long curved blade that sung as she whipped her arm out, and the other was a shorter curved blade with what appeared to be a gun attached to the hilt.

"A bit too long." She said, her voice full of anger, and attacked Genesis. He retaliated with a sudden burst of speed, and rammed into her, holding back her swords with his own. "Why have you been hiding from me?" She asked, anger devouring her words. He drew his sword back, sparks illuminating their faces in the dark. "I have never hidden from you."

She took her blades and attached them together, creating a strange crossbow-like weapon. "Is that so?" He smiled. "You've just never tried to find me before." She smiled with him. "Perhaps you are right." She fired three shots, which he easily deflected with his sword. "So what changed that?" He asked, his sword starting to gleam a bright red.

"Mother asked me to find you." She answered. "Ah," He said, calmly. "How is she doing nowadays?" Sokira grinned widely, showing all of her teeth. The action made Marlene's stomach wrench in half. "It's good to see you still care. Just how are you mother?" She asked, and closed her eyes for a moment.

"She's perfectly marvelous, but I'm afraid she's not too happy with you." She opened her eyes and offered a small frown. "She says you're preparing to betray her." Then her frown turned to a scowl. "And I won't let that happen." She unleashed a full attack on Genesis. He blocked the first few blows, then turned to the two teenagers behind him.

"Zack, Marlene, I think it would be a good idea for you to get out of here." He calmly commanded, while casting protect before a bullet got the chance to hit his back. "Where are we supposed to go?" Zack asked, pulling a terrified Marlene to her feet. "I don't care!" Genesis yelled, turning back to Sokira. "Just go! I'll find you again."

"Alright!" Zack yelled back. "Come on Marlene, let's get somewhere safe." She nodded, closing her eyes so that she couldn't see the crazed smile on Sokira's face as she fought Genesis. They ran through the woods until they reached a small dirt road, and followed it until dawn.

Sephiroth rubbed his temple as he sat in the small grass clearing. Just what was he doing here again? He was being held hostage, by people he had never done anything to. At least, not that he remembered.

He looked around at the few tress and flowers, wondering how long he would be there. A small sparrow landed on the ground next to him, and he watched as it hopped around, searching for food.

"Something bothering you?" A soft voice asked, and he looked up from his thoughts to see a young woman standing with her arms crossed. Her hair, which was a light pink color, fell past her hips, where she had two guns strapped to her legs. He realized that she was one of the guards who had been assigned to keep him there.

She took a step toward him and his sparrow companion flew away. She half smiled as she watched it fly, then sat next to him on the concrete bench. "I asked you a question," She insisted, slightly nudging him.

He looked over at her, noticing the soft blue shade of her eyes. "Well?" She asked, offering a little smile. "It's nothing." He said, shrugging off her concern. "Who are you?" She held out her hand. "My name's Aramea." Sephiroth looked down at her hand, which was covered in black leather, with a slight despondence.

She noticed, and took it back, not appearing phased at all. "And you're Sephiroth, aren't you?" He nodded. She smiled and tucked a strand of rebellious hair behind her ear. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sephiroth."

He scoffed and stood up. "Is that so?" She crossed her legs, still sitting down. "What do you mean by that?" He turned around to see a small frown on her face, and felt a twinge of regret. He didn't quite understand why though, and chose to ignore it. "I know you people hate me. Why are you trying to pretend otherwise?"

"Ah," Aramea said, quickly crossing her legs the other way. "I'm not pretending." He stared at her, slightly surprised. Ever since he had been brought here, all he ever received was false modesty, and angry stares when the people thought he wasn't looking. Now this young woman was saying she _didn't_ hate him?

"What do you mean?" He asked, curious. She leaned her head to one side, apparently thinking. Then she stood up. "Well, I think you're different from the Sephiroth that everyone knows. I can see it," She pointed at his face, "in your eyes. Even if you are his clone, I can tell that you're nothing like him."

She smiled as she could see that he was speechless for a moment. "Well, at least, I hope you're not." She then turned and sat back down. He sat down next to her. "What was he like?" She turned to him, surprised. "You don't know?" He shook his head. "That's very odd." She remarked.

Then the door that led to the small lawn opened, and another guard stepped in. She stood up. "Looks like it's time for me to go." She gave a slight wave, and was gone. Sephiroth stared down at his feet, looking over at the small bird that came back after Aramea had left. It chirped up at him, and he sighed, rubbing his temple and losing himself in his thoughts once again.


	14. Chapter 14

Marlene opened her eyes slowly, waiting for them to adjust to the light. "Hey," She heard Zack say, and she sat up, realizing she had been sleeping against his chest once again. She scooted away. "Hi." She looked around, discovering that they were back in the forest, close to a small stream.

"Where are we?" She asked, walking to the water and splashing some onto her face. Zack stood up, and came over to stand next to her. "Last I could tell, about a mile from the middle of nowhere." "Ah." She replied, taking a deep breath and standing back up. "I'm guessing that you have no idea where Genesis might be either." "Nope." Zack answered, looking over at her.

"So what do we do?" Marlene wondered aloud, surveying her surroundings. "Well, what can we do?" Zack asked, thinking. "Genesis said he would find us again, so . . ." "We're just going to wait here?" Marlene asked, putting her hands on her hips. "I don't think so." Zack looked over at her, surprised.

"I have been stuck in a cave for the past week, and you expect me to be ok with waiting on the person who stuck me down there in the first place?" She said, fuming. "Woah, relax!" He took hold of her shoulders. "I think you may have misunderstood what I meant." She made an effort to calm herself down. "What did you mean then?"

"Well, think about it," Zack started to explain himself. "He said he'd find us again, right? So where are we supposed to run?" Marlene broke away from his grasp and wrung her hands together. "I don't know." She started pacing, ignoring the fact that it caused her feet to throb. "We'll have to find Cloud, that's the only thing I can think of."

"Wait a second," Zack stopped her. "Cloud?" She nodded. He seemed to be thinking very hard. "That wouldn't happen to be the same kid that I –" His question was interrupted by the sound of something nearby. He immediately formed a protective stance in front of her.

The source of the disturbance came into view, and looked over at them curiously. Then the squirrel hopped off again, searching for more acorns. Zack and Marlene burst out laughing.

Aramea took a deep breath, building up the courage to speak to him again. Their conversation yesterday had been less than encouraging, and she hoped that today would end up differently. After she had her breathing under complete control, she walked in to the garden that he had apparently insisted upon spending the day in. He was sitting in the exact same place as he had been the day before, reading a book to pass the time. The same sparrow was also there again, keeping him company.

"Good morning Sephiroth," She said, approaching him. The sparrow flew away, spooked by the sudden sound of her voice. She knew that he had already heard her coming; the Jenova cells in him had undoubtedly granted him keen senses. He looked up from his book. "Good morning." She saw him slightly smile, but it was quickly replaced by a frown. She sat down next to him on the bench. "How are you doing today?" Sephiroth leaned forward, his long silver hair obscuring his face from view. "I'm . . . not well." He said, after a brief moment of silence.

She took a deep breath. That couldn't be good. "What's wrong?" She asked, leaning forward with him in an attempt to see his face. He took a deep breath and sat back up, facing her. Once again, the full force of his gaze on her was stronger than she had expected; almost causing her to lose her train of thought. She blinked, frustrated. She was not one to be easily distracted by that sort of thing. "Last night I did some research on the original Sephiroth." He told her, his voice grave.

Immediately, she understood why his mood was so dark. "What did you find out?" He set the book down on the bench next to him. "Everything I needed to." Aramea shook her head. "Are you sure about that? You have quite a history." "Yes, I'm sure." He snapped, but leaned forward again after a few moments, holding his face in his hands. "At least, I found out all I could take." "So, what are you going to do about it?" She asked, not enjoying the sight of him being so, well, fragile. He turned his head to look at her. "What do you mean?" She pursed her lips. "Shouldn't that be obvious?"

The look on his face told her that it was, in fact, not obvious to him. She sighed, and started to explain what she had meant. "Now that you know what reputation you've been given, shouldn't you do something to change it? To give yourself a second chance?"

He shook his head. "But what could I do to make up for what I've done? How could anyone forgive me after what I put them through?" Aramea crossed her arms. "See, now that's where you've got it wrong. You didn't do any of those things. So why should you have to suffer for them? Why don't you show the world that you're not the same man that you've been named after?"

"And how would I manage that?"

"I'm not quite sure."

"So why did you even suggest it?"

"Maybe you should try things on a smaller scale then." She said, her voice starting to give away some of the frustration she was feeling. Sephiroth seemed to notice. "Such as?" He prodded. She shrugged. "Well, what about Cloud?"

"Cloud?" He repeated incredulously. "He was the one I tortured most! How in hell could I convince him that I'm not the same man anymore!"

"I'm just trying to help!" Aramea shouted back, holding her fists down at her sides so she wouldn't slap him. "If you aren't going to listen to a single thing I say though, I can go back to just watching you like I'm supposed to; maybe it'll do you some good to just have yourself to talk to for a while." She stood up, furious, and started to walk away.

After she had taken three steps, a cool hand caught her wrist. "Wait," He said, sounding calm. "I'm sorry I yelled at you." She nodded, still angry. "You aught to be." He let go of her hand, and stood up. "I'm curious, however," She turned around, looking up at him even though he was three feet away from where she was standing. "About what?" He took a step closer. "Why you're trying to help me." She was tongue-tied for a moment, unwilling to explain. "Do I really need a reason?" She finally said, after deciding that would be the best response.

Sephiroth opened his mouth to respond, and she knew what he was going to say.

"Yes, you do," He said, exactly how she had thought he would; the next words he said, however, caught her by surprise. "But if you don't want to tell me," He continued, "I won't push you to." She took a deep breath, shaking off the surprise. "Thank you." He said nothing else, and from the expression he held on his face, Aramea knew that even if he wasn't going to force her to tell him, he still wanted to know - badly.

So before he got the chance to guilt her into it, she came up with an excuse to leave. "I'd better get back to my job now, I'd rather not risk losing it because I'm talking to you too much." Sephiroth nodded. "Of course," He turned and sat back down, picking up his book. She returned to pacing the outer edge of the circular garden, not noticing the silent eyes that watched her return to her duties.


	15. Chapter 15

Sokira flinched. She hadn't expected _this_ to happen. 'Stupid, human weaknesses,' She thought bitterly. Genesis was lying at her feet, unconscious. He had been briefly stunned by a spell that she had cast on him when he had least expected it. This was the perfect time to take him out.

But she couldn't do it.

Once again she cursed the last bit of humanity that had survived inside of her. The sight of his eyes closed, and the peaceful expression on his face; it brought back memories, ones that she would gladly have forgotten. Strange feelings stirred inside of her stomach, and she stepped back from the helpless man.

'What are you doing?' Jenova asked, an edge in her sweet voice. 'Kill him. Now.' Sokira took a deep breath, and readied her weapon, forging it back into one piece again.

Genesis' eyes flashed open again, and he stood up, quickly snapping out of his daze. He had only been down for a few seconds. Sokira screamed in defiance of the feelings deep inside of her, and attacked.

Genesis quickly recovered his weapon, blocking her enraged attack. In the brief moment that their eyes met, he saw tears running freely down her cheeks. He pushed her back; she stood at the edge of the clearing, breathing heavily. She said something quietly, so quietly that even he could barely hear it.

He blinked, shocked by what he had heard. But he had no time to think things through. She was coming at him again. He felt a new wave of adrenaline rush through his system, and a twinge of annoyance followed, as he knew that the cause was something entirely different than the danger he was in.

"Sokira," He started to say, but she started to run at him again. He simply dodged her blow. She was getting clumsy, something that wasn't like her at all. She turned to face him again. "Yes?" Her familiar musical voice asked. "Why are you doing this?" He started to finish, "I don't want to hurt you," He finished, his tone softer.

"Because it's what Mother wants," She answered, once again indifferent. "You plan to stop us, and we can't allow that." She attacked again, picking up speed. "I will not let myself fail this task," She swore, jumping back and firing several more flame engulfed bullets. "I am the last of my kind, Mother's final hope."

"Always so loyal to the one that took away your life, aren't you?" He replied quietly, and she unleashed the last remnants of her rage, attacking him with speed so fast, that if he had blinked, he would've been dead.

Genesis simply defended himself, waiting for a break in her attacks. His patience proved worthwhile; he found a chance, and took it. Quickly enacting several attacks, he made sure his final blow would be strong enough to give him time to get away.

Once she had collapsed, he quickly took off, ignoring the ache in his gut as he saw her lying there, helpless. The words she had said echoed through his mind, rendering chaos throughout his thoughts.

"I still love you, you bastard."

"Well, here we are!" Zack said happily, as if they had just accomplished something great. "Yup," Marlene said, not quite as enthusiastic as he seemed to be. "So . . . which way do we go?" She asked, staring at the dirt road they had just reached. "Uh . . ." Zack answered.

She took a deep breath. "Oh." Stepping forwards, she looked down both ways of the road. "How about this way?" She asked, pointing in the direction she had chosen. He followed her onto the road. "I'm pretty sure that's where we came from last night." Marlene turned around. "Oh." She quickly started walking in the other direction.

Zack chuckled behind her. She turned her head for a moment to give him a brief glare. He still grinned, and caught up to walk beside her. "So," He began, seeming to search for the right words for a moment. "Have you ever had any boyfriends before?"

Marlene felt a blush quickly appear on her face. "Not really," She looked over a Zack to see a surprised expression on his face. "Really?" He asked, in key with the expression he held. "That's surprising," She looked down, ignoring the second flush of heat that reached her cheeks. "Why's that?"

"Well, you know," He said, and she could've sworn that he sounded nervous. "Because, uh, you're kind of - are you really going to make me say it?" He asked, running ahead and then walking backwards in front of her. She shrugged. "Maybe," She looked back down at the ground, hiding a smirk.

"Hey," He said, and she looked up to see that he had gotten closer. "Who gave you that necklace?" She reached up and held the rose in her hand for a moment, thinking of Denzel. "Someone I'm very close to." Understanding flew through his features. "Would that person happen to be a guy?" He teased, crossing his arms as he still walked backwards in front of her.

Marlene looked back up at him, and resisted sticking out her tongue. "Maybe," She looked back down again. "But, he doesn't feel the same about me as I do about him." Zack stopped walking backwards and walked in step beside her. "Oh. I'm sorry," She shook her head. "Don't be, I mean, if he did, it would just be awkward. We did grow up together, after all."

Zack grimaced. She bit her lip immediately, wondering if she had said too much. "What is it?" She asked. He glanced down at her. "Nothing," She could hear the lie behind his reply. "Really?" She insisted. He grinned down at her. "Really." She turned her head around, upset that he hadn't told her.

Then pain shot up through her legs, and she nearly fell over. "Marlene?" Zack asked, gently taking hold of her shoulders so that she wouldn't fall. She put her arms on his chest and let him support most of her weight. "Uh, I think I need to sit down," She weakly answered. "Ok," He picked her up and took her over to a tree stump on the side of the road.

After he had gently set her down, he sat down on the ground next to her. She took a few deep breaths, and leaned down to examine her feet. The blotching had spread to her heels, and on one leg, up to her ankle. She took another deep breath, holding back frustrated tears.

She felt Zack take hold of one of her hands, and she opened her eyes to look over at him. "Are you gonna be ok?" He asked, a supportive smile on his face. She shook her head, ignoring the lump in her throat. "I don't know. I hope so." Zack stood up, and did a few squats, seeming to think. She watched him as his head bobbed up and down, and knew that if she hadn't been feeling so horrible she would've laughed at him.

After a few moments of this, he stood up straight. "I got it!" She looked up at him expectantly. "What?" He grinned, and scooped her up into his arms, once again. "I'll just have to carry you until you feel better." Marlene raised a brow, starting to get suspicious. "You just like carrying me, don't you?" His grin grew wider, and she knew that even if he wouldn't admit it, she was right.


	16. Chapter 16

Aramea ground her teeth. She hated doing this. "He's ready to see you now," The secretary informed her, and she took an angry breath, standing up and entering his office. "Hello Aramea," His polite voice greeted, and she simply nodded her head, sitting down in a chair in front of his mahogany desk.

"How are things going with the clone?" He asked, and she felt a flare of anger rise in her chest. He wasn't just a clone, he was a person too. She did her best to hide the anger when she gave her answer. "Things are going fine, sir, I thought I had told you that in my report." He leaned back, amused. "You did." She took a deep breath, mentally berating herself for even coming. "So why did you want me to come here?"

He crossed his arms after casually sipping his glass of scotch; the smell of the alcohol burned in her nose. "Because I'm concerned you may be getting to attached to the subject." Aramea raised a brow. "Subject, sir?" He nodded. "After his release, we plan to . . ." He grinned as he thought of the right word, "acquire him."

"What for?" She asked, knowing the answer. It made her stomach churn. "Scientific research." He answered. She held back an angry laugh. So that was what they were calling it now? "Of course, you would be assisting us in his capture." He added after a moment. "If he has placed any trust in you we could easily use that to our own advantage."

That took away the last bits of her patience. "What?" She asked, fuming. "You would use that for your own agenda?" He didn't seem surprised by her outbreak. "Of course." She shook her head. "No, I won't have anything to do with that." He smiled wickedly. "Oh, I think you will." She stood up and leaned forward on his desk. "Is that so?"

All traces of her respect for this man were now gone, and she could care less whether or not she got to keep her job. If she was fired for what she was doing right now, she would just have to find another job. She wouldn't help him hurt an innocent person.

"Yes, it is." He still smiled. "What makes you think that?" She glared at his blue eyes. "Don't you want to know what happened to your parents?" He asked, and her train of thought stopped. He knew about her parents? How they died? But, how did he know?

"You know . . . you know about my parents?" She asked, her voice was humiliating quiet now. "How?" He shook his head and held a finger up to her lips. "I won't tell you anything, unless you agree to help me." Aramea felt her heart drop into her stomach. How did he expect her to make this choice?

She took a deep breath. "Alright. I'll help you."

Rufus Shinra smiled, and took another sip of his scotch as she turned and sat back down.

* * *

Zack looked down at Marlene, who was sleeping against his chest. After watching her toss and turn in her sleep, he had gently picked her up and held her there. She couldn't seem to sleep any other way, and besides, it wasn't like he minded having her so close.

They had made decent progress that day, considering the condition she was in. He could tell that most of the time she was trying not to let him see that she was in pain, and that frustrated him. He gently stroked some of her hair out of her face, wondering why she wouldn't tell him what was wrong. He wanted to help her. All he had ever wanted to do was to help people. Well, that, and be a 1st Class SOLDIER. He wondered if the original Zack had accomplished that.

Marlene stirred in her sleep, seeming to mutter something. Then she sighed, and snuggled closer to him. He yawned, wrapping both arms around her. He pressed his face against the top of her head, and felt himself drifting off to sleep.

He heard a thud, somewhere close, and his eyes flashed open. It was early in the morning; the sun still hadn't risen yet, and the light was tinted blue like it usually is before dawn. He heard another sound, something was coming towards them.

He rubbed Marlene's back gently, waking her up. She looked up at him, her dark brown eyes confused and tired. He smoothed some hair out of her face again. "Something's close," He whispered, "we need to move." She opened her eyes fully, alert now. She nodded, and he stood up slowly, looking around, listening for any sound that might tell them where not to run.

"You know, you're terrible at sneaking away." A sarcastic yet musical voice informed them. Zack stood up straight, and turned around to face Genesis, who looked like he had been through a tough fight with . . . whoever that woman was. "I guess I'm a little out of practice," He answered, matching Genesis' sarcastic tone.

"How did you find us?" Marlene asked, and Zack turned to see her scowling at the man. She was kinda cute when she was upset. "Well, you didn't get very far," Genesis responded, snapping Zack's thoughts back to their situation. "Where were you planning on going?" Marlene stepped up to stand next to Zack. "Somewhere, anywhere we could get away from you." Genesis nodded. "I see. I think you would be disappointed then, to know that there are no towns within one hundred miles of where we are right now."

Zack heard her take a sharp breath. He turned around to see a single tear fall from her eyes as she held onto the pendant on her chest. Genesis took a step closer; Zack immediately stepped in front of Marlene. "Calm down," Genesis said, rolling his eyes, "I just want to see something." Zack stepped out of the way, glaring at him.

Genesis leaned down, seeming to examine Marlene's feet. "How long has this been going on" He asked, gently touching a blotched spot. She flinched. "About a week. Why?" He stood back up. "Why didn't you say something?" He asked, his tone almost fatherly. "Why would I?" She responded, angrily. "You're my captor, remember? You don't care about my well-being, so I shouldn't bother you with it." He nodded, and stepped away. "Of course."

"And who was that woman?" Marlene asked, stepping out from behind Zack, who had once again placed himself in front of her protectively. "Why did she attack you?" Genesis wearily started walking towards the road. "That, little girl, is a very long story." Zack placed an arm around Marlene's waist, and followed Genesis. "Well, we've got plenty of time." Genesis paused, waiting for them to catch up. "No, actually we don't."

"What do you mean?" Zack asked, stopping as well. Genesis turned around to face them, and focused his gaze on Marlene. "She doesn't have much time left." "What are you talking about?" Zack asked, feeling Marlene stiffen in his arms. Genesis resumed walking towards the road. "If we don't find a cure for her soon enough, she's going to die."

Zack looked down at Marlene, who was breathing heavily. "I'm going to die?" She asked feebly. He placed a hand on her cheek. "No, you won't, I won't let you." She rolled her eyes, still maintaining her spunk even though she was about to hyperventilate. "Seriously? That's so cliche," Zack held back a smile. "Yeah I know." She took another deep breath, and then collapsed. "Marlene!" He yelled, startled, catching her before she could hit then ground.

Genesis ran over to see what was wrong. "She'll be fine." Zack glared up at him. "You just said she was going to die." Genesis nodded. "Yes, I did. But for right now, she's simply unconscious." Zack took a deep breath as he watched the older man walk away calmly. Then he looked back down at Marlene, who's head rested gently on his arm. "Come on, Zack," Genesis called.

Zack ground his teeth together, moving to gently pick Marlene up. After he held her comfortably in his arms, he started to follow Genesis.


	17. Chapter 17

Sephiroth practically ran to the garden where he knew she would be. He could feel the excited grin threatening to show in his face; he managed to hold it back by focusing on his breathing. He didn't care that the other guards were giving him confused glares as he ran to intercept Aramea, who was continuing her regular walk around the perimeter of the garden. "Aramea!" He heard his excited voice call.

She looked up immediately, surprised by his approach. "Sephiroth?" Her voice sounded sad somehow, and a small amount of his excitement died down as a result of that. "Aramea," He repeated, having reached her by then. "I'm leaving." Her soft blue eyes opened wide. "What?" He fell in step beside her as she resumed walking. He looked down at her face, and saw her biting her lip.

"I thought about what you said before, about helping Cloud to prove that I'm not the same man." He said, waiting for a reaction from her for a moment. "And?" She asked, not looking up. "I realized, that it's not just him that I need to prove myself to. I need to show myself that I'm not the same man too." She nodded. "That's probably true. So how does leaving fit into all this?" Her voice sounded slightly bitter.

Sephiroth was slightly taken aback by this. "I was going to help him." "With?" She asked, her voice still bitter. "Finding that girl, Marlene. Or whatever else he may need help with. I'm sure that with Sokira still on the loose that he would be glad to have any extra assistance." She finally looked up at him, a sarcastic smile on her face. "Good for you."

He took hold of one of her shoulders, keeping her from walking any further. "You'll be coming too." She stared up at him, wide-eyed. "What?" "I talked to Reeve this morning, and he said that he would want one of his own officers monitoring me as well as Cloud and . . ." He struggled to remember their names, "the other ones in the search party. So I suggested you." "And he agreed to this?" She asked, her voice holding a slight edge.

Sephiroth nodded. She took a deep breath, and then smiled. "Well, when are we leaving?" "In a few hours," He answered. "Reno will be giving us a ride in his helicopter, so pack light." She nodded. "Sephiroth," She said. He stepped in front of her and held both of her shoulders in his hands. "Yes?" She looked up at his eyes. "Why did you want me to come with you?" He leaned his head to one side, thinking for a little while. "I thought that you would have known."

"Known what?" She snapped. He loosened his grip on her shoulders. "That I want you to come because you're the one that gave me the idea. And I'm not sure whether Cloud could restrain himself from killing me." She snorted, covering her mouth to hide her laugh. Sephiroth relaxed slightly. "So will you come with me?" She looked down, not saying anything. He placed a finger under her chin, and lifted it up.

She immediately stepped back, swapping his hand away from her face and roughly shoving his other hand away from her shoulder. "Yes, I'll go with you. Just don't ever try that again." He blinked, and she was already gone.

* * *

"What do you mean she's not here?" Cloud practically growled at Denzel; they were standing in the ruins of Banora Village. Denzel matched the older man's angry glare. "I mean, she's not here anymore!" "Then where the hell is she?" Barrett screamed. "Look guys, it's not my fault that she's not here right now, ok? We'll just have to go look somewhere else!" Denzel yelled back.

"Denzel," Vincent, the only one who had remained calm, stepped around the two angry men. "Let me see that materia." Denzel angrily pulled it out of his pocket and plopped it into the other man's hand. Vincent ignored the angry manner in which it was handed to him, and carefully examined the deep blue materia. "He's right," He said calmly. "She's not here. But she's close."

"How close?" Cloud asked. "And how can you even tell with that materia?" Barrett added after Cloud had finished. "Not more than twenty miles away," He paused to briefly point towards a thick section of the forest on the edge of the destroyed town, "In that direction." The he gently handed that materia back to Denzel. "It took you a long time to ask that question," Vincent said, almost smiling at Barrett.

"The materia Denzel has is called 'The Seeker's materia.' Normally it would only guide you to what your heart desires most, but, since he had one stone divided into two pieces, keeping one for himself and giving the other to Marlene, he created a compass, of sorts." Vincent answered.

"A compass?" Cloud said, his words not exactly matching the tone that a question usually held. "Yeah. The stone will shine the brightest whenever it's facing the direction that the other stone is in." Denzel answered. "Didn't you know that?" He turned in the direction of Barrett. Barrett shook his head and shrugged. "Don't make a difference no more."

Cloud's cell phone rang. He quickly picked it up. "What is it?" Silence settled on the other men. Cloud's face turned from anger, to a strange mixture of outrage and shock. "Are you serious, Tifa? You're not joking with me?" He took a deep breath, squeezing the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "When will they be here?"

He took another deep breath. "That soon?" Another moment of silence. "Alright, thank you for calling and letting us know. I love you Tifa, bye." He swiftly hung up. "What is it?" Vincent asked almost immediately. Cloud looked as though he was trying to remain calm. "Sephiroth is coming." Denzel stood up from the tree trunk he had been sitting on. "What?" Cloud turned to him. "To help us search for Marlene." Barrett squashed the apple he had been fidgeting with. "What?" Cloud took yet another deep breath. "And he's not the only one coming."

"Who else is?" Vincent asked, still the only one managing to stay calm. "Aramea." Cloud practically spat. Vincent nodded, worry starting to show on his face. "When will they be here, Cloud?" Cloud looked up at the sky despondently. "In less than half an hour."

* * *

Aramea sighed, looking out of the helicopter windows, staring intently at the instruments on the dashboard, pecking at the little threads on her scarf, anything to help her not think about what she was doing, and what she was going to do.

Her talk with Rufus had been relatively short, considering the time frame that she had been given by Sephiroth's plans, yet he had not hesitated to tell her exactly what his plans were . . .

She sat down once again in the chair in front of his mahogany desk. He smiled brightly at her, yet she saw the menace of victory in his eyes. "Well, Aramea, I didn't expect you to be able to coerce Reeve to let him go so quickly."

"It had nothing to do with me." She quickly lied. He smiled knowingly. "I'm sure." She looked down quickly, trying to stop her foot from tapping impatiently. "So what do you want me to do?" Rufus leaned back in his chair and opened a desk drawer, pulling out a cigar box. She glared at him. "Well my dear," He said, opening the box and pulling one out, "You wouldn't have to really do a thing."

Aramea prepared to put up with the disgusting smoke. "What do you mean, Rufus?" He smiled and put the cigar back into the box. She slightly relaxed. "All you have to do is nudge him in the right direction." She narrowed her eyes at him. "What?" He leaned forward again, crossing his arms. "Help him walk right into our waiting arms."

She ground her teeth so tightly that it caused her pain. He took the action as her acceptance. "Good. Now, here's what you're going to do - "

"Hey!" Reno interrupted her thoughts. She jumped and looked over at the redheaded pilot. "Yeah?" Sephiroth covered his face in his gloved hands. "You really don't want to know if you didn't hear it the first time,"

"I was wondering if you could go out on the town sometime with me. You like to party, right?" Reno repeated for her, overlapping the end of Sephiroth's sentence. She took a deep breath, realizing that Sephiroth had been right. "Actually, I don't like to party Reno. But thanks for the offer." Reno's mood didn't dim. "Alright cutie, maybe some other time." She leaned forward over the back seat. "Excuse - "

"Hey hey hey! We're here!" He shouted, interrupting her frustrated question. She closed her mouth and looked angrily out the window. The ruined village of Banora was directly below them; Reno had the helicopter hovering as they waited for the small search party to clear the spot that they were going to land in.

She turned to Sephiroth. "Are you ready?" He nodded and smiled a tiny smile. It almost made her heart stop. "I think so. What about you?" She looked back out the window so he wouldn't see the expression on her face. "No, not for this," She whispered, thankful he couldn't hear it over the helicopter's blades.


	18. Chapter 18

Sokira opened her eyes. The sun had already risen; Genesis must have used a sleepga spell on her. She yawned, and sat up. "This isn't working, mother," She thought aloud, retracting her wing.

_"I know, child."_ Jenova answered. _"Now why don't we try things the way that I've planned?" _

She reluctantly nodded. "What would you have me do?"

Sokira could hear Jenova's pleased smile. _"Go to the place where my ties are the strongest, the town that could never forget what I caused." _

She nodded, fully aware of the place that her mother was referencing. "And Genesis?"

_"He will pursue us. It is his duty after all."_ Jenova answered.

"What about Sephiroth?" Sokira asked, clenching her teeth at the thought of his name.

_"He will follow us as well. He believes it's his obligation."_ Jenova said, also sounding bitter.

"Very well." Sokira stated, and started her journey to Nibelheim.

* * *

Aramea jumped out of the helicopter, landing gracefully though she had easily fallen eight feet. She stood up, planting her feet in the ground as she waited for Sephiroth to exit the helicopter as well. She turned to see him slowly descend to the ground, and land silently. He smiled when he saw the amused expression on her face. "Spells such as float can be quite useful at times," He said, almost sounding as though he had just tried to make a joke. She shook her head at him, and then walked towards the waiting group.

She took notice of all the people there. Cloud, Vincent, Barrett, that kid, and - great. She was the only woman there. Cloud was the first one to speak. "Sephiroth, Aramea," He started, looking at each one as he spoke their names, "Thank you for coming to help us." Aramea could sense a slight edge of bitterness in his voice. Sephiroth nodded. Vincent crossed his arms. "We have one question though: Why are you helping us?"

Aramea took notice of the teenager's continued gaze on her face, and shifted her feet uncomfortably. She could practically feel the resentment that he had towards her and Sephiroth, and it was intensified by his glare.

"It was my decision." Sephiroth answered, and Aramea could see the surprise flicker across their faces. "I felt that I should do something to help. There may be a connection to Sokira and what Genesis is doing."

"Why would they be connected?" Cloud asked. "You don't know?" Sephiroth asked in response. "The hell would I know?" Barrett yelled. Aramea glared at him; he shrugged and turned away from her gaze, uncomfortable. "Because they were lovers, once." Sephiroth answered. "What?" All of the others asked, including Aramea. Sephiroth nodded and shrugged at the same time. "I should've realized that you wouldn't know that."

"How do _you_ know that?" The teenager asked. "I was there." Sephiroth answered, in a tone that suggested he was done answering questions. "Well," Aramea started, "If we're done covering that subject, why don't we get moving? The more time we spend talking the less time she might have." Vincent briskly straightened up and let his arms down from their usual place, crossed against his chest. "She's right, we need to keep moving."

Aramea smiled a tiny smile at him, grateful. He acknowledged it by nodding his head. "Denzel?" He asked, turning towards the boy. "Let me see that materia again." Denzel nodded, and pulled a piece of dark blue materia out of his pocket.

Aramea did a double take. Was that Seeker's materia? How could a kid afford _that?_

Vincent held it southwest, and then turned slowly to the east. "She's this way." He said with certainty. "Let's get goin then!" Barrett yelled, eager. "Alright." Cloud nodded, begrudgingly casting a glance in Aramea and Sephiroth's direction. She did her best to keep quiet. Cloud started walking southeast, in the direction that Vincent had given them.

The others followed suit, with Aramea and Denzel in the very back. She started to say something, in an attempt to at least be friendly, but a swift glare from Cloud shut her up immediately.

This was going to be a long walk.

* * *

"Hey, Marlene, ready to wake up?" Zack's voice called. She shook her head. "Not really," She halfway moaned. He chuckled, and she felt one of his hands gently rub her back. "Well you're gonna have to anyway." She sighed and opened her eyes. It was dark, and they were in what seemed to be a makeshift shelter. She sat up, scooting away from Zack, who made a strange expression when she did. "So, where are we?" She asked, her voice still slightly groggy. Zack shrugged. "I'm not really sure."

She sighed. "That's what you said last time." He nodded. "I know." She shook her head and stood up to peek outside. It was pouring rain.

She giggled, and ran out to stand in the downpour. Her feet started to throb, but she had become sort of used to the pain by now. She simply enjoyed the feeling of the cool raindrops falling on her face, washing away any dirt that had ben smudged on her cheeks.

She turned around, to call Zack out too, and was surprised to see him already standing next to her, grinning as his hair was flattened by the rain. She simply laughed again. "Isn't it amazing?" He looked up at the clouds, and nodded. "Yeah." Then he looked back at her. "It's beautiful." She blushed, trying not to think about what he may have meant, or how her hair probably looked like a mess of snakes. Of course, it wasn't like his hair looked any better.

His bangs were stuck against his forehead, and the rest of his hair was laying flat against his skull. It almost made her want to laugh. But she didn't out of respect for his dignity. "Hey, listen," He said, and she nodded. "Yeah?" He combed through his flat hair. "You were out for a while, and it gave me and Genesis a long time to talk." Marlene raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Um . . ." He thought aloud. She kept silent, unsure of what he could be trying to say. "Well, what if he's not the bad guy, like you think he is?" "What?" Marlene snapped. "Where did that come from?" Zack shrugged apologetically. "I don't really know," Marlene turned around, completely soaked by now. "So if he's not the bad guy who is he? He kidnaped me Zack!" Zack nodded. "Yeah, I know,"

"He took me into a damp hole and left me there alone for two weeks!" Marlene continued. "Well why do you think he woke me back up?" Zack retorted. "What?" She asked, he had thrown her for a loop with that question. "Well . . . he never explained why." Zack nodded, seeming to have gotten some of his bravado back. "I didn't think so."

"That doesn't change what he's done to me though." She said, starting to get angry with him. "What did he do?" He asked, seeming genuinely curious. "What do you think?" She furiously gestured to her feet. "He made me sick, Zack, he gave me geostigma!"

"I never did that." The voice of the very person they had been discussing said. "I would never do that to you." Marlene whirled around to see Genesis standing behind her, soaked. Then she felt ashamed of herself. Had he been listening the whole time?

"Then what did?" She asked, her voice gentler. Genesis shook his head. "I don't know right now But I promise you, I am searching for a way to heal you." She nodded. "Alright." He seemed relieved. "I still have something to ask you though, as long as we're on this subject." "What is it?" He asked, and to her surprise, he didn't sound angry at all. "If you aren't a bad guy, why did you kidnap me?"

He looked surprised. "Didn't I already tell you?" She nodded. "You said that I was bait." "And that's exactly what you are." He answered. She huffed. "That doesn't explain it any more than what you said before."

He half smiled. "Well Marlene, think about it. What would I need bait for?" She thought about it for a second. "Cloud?" He made to move to respond, edging her on. "But if you had wanted to get to Cloud, you could've already. I don't get it." He took a deep breath. "Remember that night when you were traveling?" She nodded, how could she forget?

"Then you should also remember that Cloud automatically assumed that I was there to hurt you." He went on. "You weren't?" Marlene asked, the surprise showing in her voice. He shook his head. "No, I wasn't." Marlene felt her mouth go agape. "He never even gave me a chance to explain why I was there, though." Genesis continued. "He attacked me immediately, and still fought even when I yelled out that I didn't want to fight.

"I realized that if I wanted him to listen to me, I would have to have some sort of leverage. That is, if I wanted to speak to him before I was on death's doorstep." He finished explaining. Marlene still couldn't mange to close her mouth. "So, I'm that leverage." He nodded. She took a deep breath. "Ok, things make a little more sense now." "But you still haven't explained one thing," Zack spoke up, reminding Marlene of his presence there. "What did you want to talk with Cloud about in the first place?"

Genesis smiled. "That, my young friends, is something that I will keep to myself until I get the chance to speak with him." Zack shook his head and put his hands on his hips. "Of course." Genesis chuckled. "Of course." Something occurred to Marlene. "Wait a second." Genesis turned to her, giving her his attention. "If you need to talk to Cloud, why have we been running?"

"That's a very good question," He answered. "The truth is, we haven't been running from Cloud, but someone else." "That woman." Zack said, and Marlene looked to see him standing closely behind her. "We've been running from her, haven't we?" Genesis nodded. Marlene took a deep breath, noticing the rain start to thin. "Why? You seem powerful enough to take her on." Genesis slightly smiled and shook his head. "I'm not so sure about that; however, we've been running because I would prefer to keep the both of you alive. She wouldn't hesitate to kill you if she got the chance."

"Who is she?" Marlene asked, crossing her arms. A strange look covered his face, almost like a mask. "Her name is Sokira." Shivers ran down Marlene's spine as she put the name with the fierce face she had seen before. "Why did she attack us?" Genesis shook his head. "That is another thing I need to discuss with Cloud."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Zack asked, eager. "Let's go find him." Marlene turned around and nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I'm ready to be home." Genesis stepped up to stand in front of both of them. "Well then, let's be on our way."


	19. Chapter 19

Aramea started to eat her late dinner, sitting next to the small fire they had made. A couple of the others had gone to sleep already, except for Vincent, who seemed to be perfectly fine without sleep, so he was standing guard; Sephiroth, who claimed he had to much on his mind to sleep; and the teenager, Denzel, who said that he was too anxious to get to sleep.

The silence was very uncomfortable, so she cleared her throat and said something. "So, um, Denzel, why did you come along on this search and rescue mission?" He looked over at her from the piece of materia he was fidgeting with. "I couldn't stay behind in Edge when my best friend was in danger. I think I would've gone crazy, dealing with the guilt. Doing nothing wasn't an option." "Guilt?" Sephiroth asked, shrugging out of his huge overcoat. Denzel nodded. "The day that she went missing, well, I kind of feel responsible for it."

"You shouldn't, I'm sure that there was nothing you could've done." Aramea said supportively, setting her plate down. She really didn't feel like eating anything anymore. She noticed Vincent subtly shift his position so he could hear their conversation easier. She hid a slight smile. "So what happened to make you feel responsible?" Sephiroth asked, and Denzel cast a slightly reluctant glance in his direction. "She went for a walk, and I thought that she wanted to be alone, so, I let her go. Now I know I should've followed her."

Sephiroth nodded. "I see." Denzel put the materia back into his pocket. "I have a question for you, Aramea," She looked over at him, surprised to hear respect in his voice as he said her name. "What's that?" He put another piece of wood into the fire. "How do you know Cloud? There has to be _some_ sort of reason why he doesn't like you." She took a deep breath and looked down into the fire. "Ah, that." She glanced up at Sephiroth to see him gazing at her, a slightly curious look in his eyes.

"Well," She breathed, "We met shortly after Meteorfall, during the clean up and building of Edge. I had been with the Turks up until that time, they raised me after my parents were killed in the war with Wutai. We didn't exactly hit it off." She chuckled as she thought about it. "You see, I was traveling with Tseng and Elena, and we had a little run in with each other. He still thought that us Turks were out to get him, so he attempted to get what would have been the first strike in our little squabble."

"But?" Denzel edged her on. She slightly giggled. "I spotted him before he had the chance to attack us, and, well, _I_ was the one who ended up getting the first strike. I positively humiliated him. That was only the first disagreement that we've ever had though. There have been plenty of others; I guess we just don't get along."

"Why do you think that is?" Vincent asked, Aramea glanced over at him, surprised he had spoken. She thought about it for a moment. "Well, he's not the easiest person to get along with." Denzel laughed a little. "Tell me about it." Then he held back a yawn. "Why don't you get some sleep? We're only going to stay here for a couple more hours." Aramea said, patting him on the back. He nodded, and got up to find a place to lie down.

Sephiroth moved over to sit next to Aramea after Denzel had gone, and placed his overcoat over her shoulders. She blushed slightly, but enjoyed the warmth. "So Sephiroth," She said, looking over at his face. He turned to her. "Yes?" She leaned forward to put another piece of wood into the fire. "How do you know so much about Sokira?"

He stiffened up, and she realized that it must've been a touchy subject for him. "Sorry," She mumbled. He shook his head. "No, it's fine." He took a deep breath, staring at the fire. "She was my only friend in Deep Ground, everyone else, except for Genesis, of course, was too afraid of me to even say hello. I never understood that, until recently."

"Wait a second, you knew Genesis?" Aramea asked, leaning forward so that she could see his face. He nodded. "As I said, he and Sokira were lovers. When she came back from her final mission . . . dead," He choked over the word, "It devastated him." He took another deep breath. "Of course it hurt me too, she was like my sister. So when the scientists brought her back, I was thrilled. Until she started to act strange.

"The most obvious change after she'd been brought back was her hair. Instead of the dark brown hair that she'd always had, it was silver, like mine. At first I thought nothing of it, and she didn't say anything about it, so I simply accepted it. After a few days, I thought that things had gone back to normal, well, as normal as things can be in Deep Ground, but I was wrong.

"She shut herself up in her room for days, and noone, not even Genesis could bring her out. When she finally came out, she wasn't the Sokira I knew anymore." He took a deep breath before continuing. "She was cold. Harsh. Calculated. She never said hello to me, or Genesis. Then one night, she lost control." He closed his eyes as he thought about it. "She had been training a group of 2nd Class SOLDIERs, and one of them disobeyed her orders, being the cocky one of the group.

"She lashed out against him. Which would have been fine if she had stopped after a couple of hits, but she didn't stop until he was . . . you can probably guess that part. But she didn't even stop after _that_. She killed the rest of the trainees, and the people who tried to stop her." He opened his eyes again, and looked over at Aramea, who kept her expression calm. "Do you want me to go on?" She nodded. "Of course." He straightened up, returning to his memories.

"Genesis and I were sent out to stop her, as a final effort. We accomplished our mission, and she was put into stasis, as the scientists found her too valuable to destroy. She was the pinnacle of their work, after all. You can see how well that served them." He remarked. "After she was put into stasis, Genesis disappeared from Deep Ground, without a word to anyone. Two weeks later, I was put into stasis as well. They never even explained why."

"And then?" Aramea edged him on. "Sokira woke me back up." He said with a half hearted smile. "And now I'm here." He looked around, glancing at Vincent, who still stood as the silent guard. Aramea shook her head. "That's quite a story. Add that to what the original Sephiroth did, and you are one complicated person." She half joked. He grinned and looked over her face. "And yet you seem to understand me perfectly."

She looked down, her smile disappearing immediately. "Well, you're not the only one with a complicated past." He nodded. "This whole group seems to be made up of people who have been through a lot." She looked up and glared at him. "Don't try to corner me into being part of this group, ok? I wouldn't have even come if it wasn't for you." He seemed taken aback by her sudden hostility. "I wasn't trying to. I apologize."

She held her face in her hands. "No, _I'm_ sorry." _'For everything.'_ She added mentally. He gently rubbed her back. "You don't need to be." She got up immediately, standing out of his reach. "You have no idea . . ." She muttered, and walked away, searching for a place to sleep.

* * *

"How are you doing Marlene?" Zack asked, looking over at her. She looked up at him and smiled. "I'm alright." He nodded. "Good." He loved that about her, she was always able to smile. "Hey Genesis!' He yelled, and Genesis slowed his pace a bit. "Yes Zack?" Zack caught up to him. "Where are we headed?" Genesis glanced over at him. "You'll see." Zack rolled his eyes. "Well yeah, but, I'd like to know _beforehand._" Genesis chuckled. "You'll be fine without knowing. Now I would suggest that you go back and help Marlene before she falls over."

Zack immediately whirled around and ran to help Marlene, who was leaning against a tree. "I thought you said you were ok," He gently said, wrapping an arm around her waist to help support her. "I _was,_" She muttered. "And then you left for a little while." He looked down, ashamed of himself. "Sorry Marlene." He hoped his voice didn't sound as gentle or caring as he thought it had. She didn't need to know about his feelings quite yet.

"I hate being sick," She said quietly. "I know." He answered. She shook her head. "No, you don't." His hold on her tightened slightly. "What do you mean?" She took a deep breath. "Well, I'm not able to be myself. Right now I'm really weak, and I can barely stand without help. I hate that." Zack nodded. "I see." He looked up to see Genesis waiting for them, a pronounced smirk on his face. "What are you looking at?" He muttered, annoyed. "Huh?" Marlene asked, furrowing her brows at him. He shook his head. "Nothing." She narrowed her eyes, but looked ahead, apparently letting it slide. Genesis' smirk remained, and he shook his head.

After they had caught up, he resumed walking. "Genesis?" Marlene quietly asked. He turned to look at her. "Yes?" She took a moment to watch her footing. "You said that we needed to find Cloud, right?" He nodded. "So is that why we're headed towards that smoke?" She finished, pointing at a wisp of smoke rising in the sky. He nodded again, smiling. "That is precisely why we're headed there." He winked at Zack before he turned around again.

"I told you you'd see Zack." He laughed. Zack simply glared at his back, unable to do anything else.


	20. Chapter 20

"Come on Aramea, wake up." Sephiroth nudged her. She immediately jerked up, grabbing her guns. Sephiroth chuckled and gently pushed her hands down. "_Don't_ do that again." She realized that she had held her guns up to his face, point blank. "Sorry," She mumbled, and stood up, putting her guns back into their holsters. She looked up at the sky, and saw that it was just before dawn. The others were busy picking up camp, she noted that they were almost done. "Why are we heading out early?" She asked, annoyed.

Sephiroth looked in Denzel's direction. Denzel, who had heard what they were saying, pulled out his materia and tossed it to her. "See for yourself." She caught it easily, and then held it southeast. It shone brighter than she'd ever seen materia glow before. "So she's close." She commented, tossing it back at him. "Very close." Sephiroth commented. "And getting closer." Cloud added. Aramea turned around to see him standing behind her. "What?"

"You heard me right, she's coming towards us." He said, a strange look of eagerness in his eyes. "Hell yeah!" Barrett yelled, eager to see his daughter again. Aramea slightly smiled at that remark. Vincent kneeled down and cast an ice spell to put the fire out. "It's time to get going." He said, standing up. "Let's go then." Cloud said, and started walking southeast.

"Denzel," Aramea heard Vincent say; she turned around to watch the two of them. Vincent held out a small gun, and Denzel timidly took it. "Don't hesitate to use this if you need to." Vincent told him. He nodded. Aramea smiled at the exchange, then turned around to walk with Sephiroth. He slightly smiled when he saw her walking next to him. "Do you think you're ready to see Genesis again?" She asked quietly. He shook his head. "I don't know, but we're going to find out soon enough." She nodded. They definitely were.

* * *

Genesis stood silent for a moment, listening, then looked back at Marlene and Zack, who were still catching up. He grimaced slightly, renewing his determination to find a way to help her. "We're getting close." He informed them. Marlene's eager smile grew, and Zack's wary frown grew more pronounced. Marlene was too distracted by the thought of being with her family again to notice Zack's reluctance.

"What is it Zack?" He asked, and she looked over to take in Zack's expression. Zack shook his head, quickly replacing his frown with a bright smile. "Nothing." Genesis raised a brow. "Are you sure?" He nodded. "Alright then. Let's keep moving." Genesis said, and started walking forward again. Every once in a while he would stop, to either listen to hear how close the search party was, or to wait on Zack and Marlene to catch up. Sometimes it was both.

Slowly, but surely, they made their way through the forest.

He could hear Marlene's heart start to pound after a few hours, and decided it was time to stop for a little while. It wasn't until he turned around that he understood exactly why it was pounding though. Zack had picked her up, and was holding her face incredibly close to his. "Hey Zack," He yelled, just loud enough for the teenager to hear him. Zack looked up at him, breaking the eye contact he'd been holding with Marlene. "Yeah?" Genesis tried not to chuckle. "Try and take it easy, ok?" He could just barely see Zack's resulting blush, and he chuckled, turning around and resuming walking.

"What did he mean by that?" Marlene asked Zack, probably unaware of the fact that he could hear every word she said. "I don't know." Zack smoothly lied. "Of course you do," Genesis contradicted him, not caring to turn around to see Marlene jerk her head around as he said that. "And what if I really don't?" Zack asked, being stubborn. "But you do, so that makes arguing about it unnecessary."

Zack didn't say anything to respond to that. "So," Marlene started, "do you honestly know what he meant? Because I think I'm starting to get an idea - " Zack huffed. "Alright, I know what he meant. It's not a big deal though." "Ok . . ." She responded, leaning her head against his chest. This time it was his heart that started to pound. Genesis simply chuckled.

Then he heard a very loud, boisterous voice say something. "When I get my girl back, there ain't gonna be _nothin'_ that can separate us, 'specially any stupid boys."

"Excuse me, I happen to be a boy, you know." A much younger voice complained.

"I know." The older voice responded, sounding smug.

"Would you two just cut it out? We're making enough noise for a herd of elephants." A softer, yet still strong female voice commented. "Especially _you_, Barrett."

"She's right, we need to keep quiet." Came a voice he recognized to be Cloud's.

"What is it, Genesis?" Zack asked, and he jumped. "They're close." Genesis answered. "Let me carry Marlene."

"Wait a second," Came another voice he recognized. "I heard something." Genesis shook his head. It couldn't be. Had he really just heard Sephiroth's voice? "Where?" The woman asked. "In that direction." Sephiroth responded. "Alright, let's go." Cloud said.

Zack reached Genesis at that moment, and he started to take Marlene into his arms. "No way are you going to carry me." Marlene stopped him. "I can walk." "Are you sure?" He asked. She nodded. "Ok. Zack, you help her." He gently set her down, and Zack wrapped an arm around her waist, supporting her. "This way," Genesis whispered, and started heading towards the other group.

Then they reached a small clearing, the same one that he had set down in the first day he'd kidnaped Marlene. "We'll wait here." Zack nodded, and proceeded to help Marlene find a place to sit down. "Wait a second," She said after sitting down on a large rock. "Is this the same place that - " Genesis nodded. "Yes, it is." "Then we must be close to Banora Village again." She commented. Genesis nodded. "Wait, what?" Zack asked, seeming confused. "I thought that we were trying to get away from Banora." He reached up and started to scratch his head.

Genesis chuckled. "Well you were doing a fine job of it." His voice was sarcastic. "When I found you two again, you were headed straight for it." Marlene started to grin. "So I was right." Zack shrugged. "Yeah yeah." "What do you mean?" Genesis asked. Marlene shook her head. "It's nothing." He raised a brow, but didn't push her to tell him. Then someone else entered the clearing. Genesis turned around to get a good look at them, and his mouth opened wide. It couldn't be . . .

"Genesis!" Cloud yelled, stopping short when he saw Zack standing next to Marlene. "Zack?" He asked, sounding confused. "Cloud?" Zack asked, with the same tone. "You're alive?" Cloud asked again, still shocked. "And you're old." Zack said, sounding as though he was truly confused by that fact. Cloud was still too shocked to react properly to the comment.

His eyes turned back to Genesis. "Genesis!" He yelled again. "Let them go!"

"Now hold on just a second," Marlene said, rebuking him. "Don't assume that there's going to be a big fight over this." Barrett broke through the shrubs next. "Marlene!" He yelled out, immediately changing his mechanical hand into a gun and pointing it at Genesis. "You son of a - " "Don't even think about finishing that sentence!" Marlene yelled, jumping to stand in front of Genesis. "He's not trying to hurt me! Now would both of you just shut up and listen to what he has to say?"

Genesis finally pulled himself back together and gently pushed Marlene aside. "No need to be so dramatic." He quietly chided her. "She's right, I have something I need to speak to you about." He looked over their faces, Cloud's especially, to be sure that they would listen. "Marlene? What's all this about?" The owner of the younger voice asked. She looked over at him and smiled. "I honestly don't know Denzel, but it's important."

"Well if it's so important let's get on with it!" Barrett yelled. Genesis nodded. "Yes. Shall we?" Cloud reluctantly nodded; he still held the hilt of his sword in one hand. "I'm sure that you are all aware of Sokira's awakening from Deep Ground." He said, and carefully watched the expressions on their faces. All of them, Sephiroth especially, seemed to be intrigued by that sentence. "So you should also be aware of the fact that Jenova has control over her actions. It's Jenova's will that the Planet be destroyed. With Sokira's help, she may actually accomplish that goal."

"Just like she almost did with my help." Sephiroth said. Genesis nodded. "That's why I awoke as well. Gaia has charged me with the duty of stopping Sokira." He was silent for a moment, letting that statement sink in. "But I will need your help to accomplish that."

"So, you never meant any of us harm?" Cloud asked. Genesis shook his head. "I'll admit that I could've chosen a better time to speak to you, but still, I have never meant any of you any harm." "Then why did you take my baby?" Barrett practically yelled. "So that you would listen to me when we met again. And you have."

He turned to Marlene. "You can go now." She smiled. "Thanks." Then she ran, to the best of her abilities, to Barrett, who picked her up and spun her around in circles, laughing. "I'm never gonna let you go again, baby." He stated. She laughed. "I'm afraid you'll have to eventually, you can't carry me for the rest of your life."

Genesis smiled, watching the reunion. Then he felt a sword being held up to his neck. He turned to see Cloud scowling at him. "Hey, what's all this about?" Zack asked. "I thought he just proved that he didn't mean any harm to you guys." Cloud narrowed his eyes at Genesis. "I still don't trust you." Genesis felt a frown begin to show on his face. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will defend myself." He summoned his sword. "Hey!" Zack yelled. "Both of you, cut it out. Now!" He stood in between the two men and pushed them apart. He turned to Cloud. "I see you're still to serious for your own good."

"And you might be too trusting for your own good." Cloud snapped back. Zack frowned. "Maybe. But so far, Genesis hasn't done anything but take care of me and Marlene. He even saved us from Sokira." Cloud's eyes widened. "You've seen Sokira?" He turned around to look at Marlene. She nodded solemnly. "How long ago?" He asked. "About three days ago." She answered. "And he was the one that made sure she didn't kill us." She added on after a moment. Cloud slowly lowered his blade.

Genesis exhaled; he didn't know how long he'd been holding his breath. "Thank you." He said, acknowledging Cloud's reluctant choice to trust him. Cloud said nothing, simply glaring at him as he sheathed his sword. Barrett set Marlene down for the first time. "Denzel!' She said, tearing up, and ran to hold him. "Marlene," He said, clutching her tightly. "From now on, I go with you when you take walks, alright?" She laughed, still crying. "Ok."

Genesis looked over at the only woman in the group, and took a deep breath. "Aramea?" He asked quietly. She turned to him immediately, and put her hands on her hips. Exactly like Sokira used to. "How do you know my name?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him. He sucked in another deep breath.

"Because you're my daughter."


	21. Chapter 21

"Excuse me?" Aramea asked, her hands balling up into fists. "My parents were killed in the war with Wutai." He shook his head. "That must be the story that you were given, to hide the truth." She crossed her arms across her chest. "And what truth is that?" "That you're my daughter." He repeated. She came and stood right in front of him, glaring up at his eyes. "Prove it." He looked down at her eyes, the soft blue matching the color that Sokira had before she died. "Well, think about this: Did you ever see any family pictures? Were you ever given anything that would prove that I'm not your father?"  
She thought about it for a moment. "No." He nodded, smug. "I didn't think so." She thought for another moment. "Well then who's my mother?" Genesis was tongue tied. "You probably don't want to know that."  
"Like hell I don't." She snapped at him. "Ever since I can remember I was told my parents were killed in the war with Wutai. Now, you come along and tell me that you're my father; expecting me to believe it without any sort of proof. I honestly don't know whether to believe you or not. If you're going to do this to me, at least tell me who my mother supposedly was!"  
Genesis chuckled sadly, she acted so much like her mother. He opened his mouth, about to explain, when Cloud stepped up from behind Aramea, and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, telling her to be quiet. "Look, if Sokira's still on the loose let's focus our attention on her. This conversation can wait."  
Aramea opened her mouth, but shut it immediately. She looked over and glared at Genesis, who simply stook smirking at them, albeit unknowingly, and gave her reply. "He's right. But we will talk about this." Genesis nodded, fully intending to carry through that conversation. "Do we have any idea where Sokira is?" Vincent asked warily. "Yes," Genesis answered. "She's traveling to Nibelheim."  
"Nibelheim?" Zack and Denzel asked at the same time, then looked over at eachother suspiciously. "So let's go. What are we waiting for?" Sephiroth asked. Marlene cleared her throat. "Well there is that thing where you should probably take me home, I'd rather not keep the same outfit on for three weeks if you don't mind." Barret laughed aloud. "Alright baby, I'll get you home." Aramea turned towards him. "No, _I _will. You're needed here, and I'm not very much help, if I'm being honest with myself."  
"You sure?" Cloud asked. She nodded. "I'll meet back up with you guys in Nibelheim." "Alright." He said, and turned to Zack and Denzel. "You two are going with them." They both protested at the same time, then looked over at each other suspiciously again. Denzel shook his head. "I'm going with you. You can't tell me otherwise." Zack crossed his arms. "I'll go with Marlene, then." Marlene smiled over at him.  
"Just one thing before we go though," Zack added. Cloud raised a blonde brow. "Yes?" Zack leaned his head to one side thoughtfully. "How old are you? Cause you seem to be a lot younger in my memories." Denzel and the others held back nervous laughs. Cloud solemnly walked over to where Zack was standing, and immediately picked the teenager up by the back of his shirt, carrying him over to Aramea. "Just make sure he doesn't die on the way back, that's all I'm asking."  
He set Zack back down. "And a lot less grouchy!" Zack added, straightening out his shirt. Genesis held back a laugh, then turned to Marlene."Well Marlene, I guess this is goodbye." She nodded, saying nothing. "I'm sorry about how things happened." She shook her head immediately, confusing him. Then she ran, to the best of her abilities, to stand in front of him. "Don't be." And she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight hug.  
He was dumbfounded. "Thank you for taking care of me. Well - as best as you could anyways." She said, and stepped back. He nodded. "Now you take care of yourself, alright?" She said goodbye to the others, and then came to hug him one more time. "Bye," She said quietly after the hug. He smiled sadly. "Goodbye."  
As she walked over to leave with Aramea, he knew that he wouldn't be seeing her again. Aramea simply looked at him, a confused look in her eyes, before turning into the woods and leaving. Zack gave a friendly smile and a wave, and with that, they were gone.  
Genesis turned towards the others who were with him. "Now. Why don't get on our way?"

* * *

Marlene looked over at the older woman, who was walking in silence down a hidden path in the woods. "So, Miss Aramea," Aramea looked back at her, a slight smile on her face. "Just Aramea, please." She looked back forward. Marlene nodded. "Alright then. Aramea, I hope this doesn't sound rude, but, who are you?" Aramea chuckled. "Well what do you mean? I can tell you my name, but I don't know what else you would want to know." "Your name's good, we'll go with that." Zack added, finally having caught up.  
"Aramea Riona Wyndsbayne." Aramea answered. "What else would you like to know?" "Why did you come with Cloud? And something else, but I'll let you answer that question first." Marlene answered. Aramea paused for a moment, allowing Zack and Marlene to catch their breaths. "I did it for a friend." "Alright, that makes sense," Zack said after a few moments. "What was the other thing?" Aramea asked. Marlene looked over at her with frightened eyes. "Was that really Sephiroth?"  
Aramea seemed to think for a moment. "Well, yes, and no." "What do you mean?" Marlene asked, confused. Aramea started trekking through the forest again. "The man you saw a little while wasn't Sephiroth himself, rather, he was Sephiroth's clone. But, he's different from the Sephiroth you are probably thinking of right now. He's much more . . ." She searched for the right word, "human. I can't imagine him purposefully doing anything to harm an innocent human being."  
Marlene processed this for a moment. "I see." Zack subtly wrapped an arm around her waist, supporting her. "So are we headed back to Midgar? And what's the big deal with Sephiroth? I thought he was one of the good guys. . . .?" Marlene looked up at him with disbelief, and then looked back down. This was going to be a long story, and a long walk.


	22. Chapter 22

"What am I doing here Mother?" Sokira asked despondently. _"Patience, child."_ Jenova snapped. Sokira sighed and sat down on the bed. She was in the Nibelheim Inn, getting some rest after her long journey. "I know, but it would be nice to know what our plans are." _"You will know in time. For we shall be one soon, my thoughts your thoughts, and your thoughts mine." _Jenova answered. Sokira shook her head. "I hope so."  
_"And what do you mean by that?"_ Jenova questioned, an edge in her normally sweet and soothing voice. "Nothing, Mother. I just need some rest." _"Very well then. Rest, my daughter."_ Sokira sighed, and turned over on the bed, falling asleep for the first time since she had awoken two weeks before.

* * *

Aramea walked down the dark alleyway to a familiar sign, Marlene and Zack following her. "This is the right one right?" Aramea said, turning around to ask Marlene. Marlene nodded. Aramea turned back around. "I wouldn't really know, considering I don't drink. But, you go ahead and go home alright? I've got some business to attend to." She turned back around and headed out of the alleyway, while Marlene stood in front of the door for a long moment.  
Marlene hesitantly opened the door to Seventh Heaven. "Tifa?" She called out quietly, afraid to wake anyone up; it was very late at night. There was some knocking around upstairs, until finally a scantily clad Tifa came running down the stairs. She flipped on the lights, wincing as she did so, and looked across the bar at who had interrupted her sleep. Then her jaw dropped. "Marlene?" She asked it quietly, as though she was afraid it was merely a dream.  
"Yeah?" Marlene answered, starting to tear up. Tears spilled from Tifa's eyes, and she ran over to embrace her daughter. "Are you really back?" She asked after pulling away from one of the tightest hugs Marlene had ever experience. "Yeah." Marlene answered, crying too. Tifa simply held onto the girl, clutching her as though she'd never let go. "Don't ever scare me like that again." Marlene halfway laughed. "I'll do my best. I can't make any promises though."  
Then Tifa stepped back and assessed the her face. "You look so grown up now!" She exclaimed. Marlene halfway blushed. "I guess I kinda grew up the hard way." Tifa smiled a tiny smile, and then held her close again. They stood like that a long time.  
Until Zack coughed loudly.  
Tifa immediately looked over to see the teenager standing close to the door, blushing wildly and trying very hard to not look over at her. Her first instinct was to cover her chest up, she grabbed her over coat and slung it over her shoulders to spare the him. And then, after she had accomplished this, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Zack?" He looked up, and was visibly relieved that she had covered herself up. "Uh, yeah?" He answered.  
"Wait," Tifa warily started. "Please don't tell me that I am actually dreaming . . ." Marlene laughed and shook her head. "No, you're not. This is Zack. Zack Fair." Tifa looked down at her like she had lost her mind, and very quietly spoke to her. "Marlene, Zack was killed a long time ago, saving Cloud's life." Marlene's eyes opened wide. "He's the one who . . ." Then she turned and looked over the young man very carefully. "I should've realized that by now."  
Zack noticed the two women thoroughly looking him over, and his blush came back again. He shuffled his feet, and looked around, noticing a small cat-like doll sitting on one of the tables. Curious, he went to investigate.  
"If he died all those years ago, what's he doing in our bar right now?" Tifa asked, looking as though she had just seen Vincent doing the polka. "He's a clone Tifa," Marlene answered. "Genesis was keeping him in stasis in Banora Village. He woke Zack up to help take care of me." Tifa's eyebrow's furrowed deeper. "A clone?" Marlene nodded.  
"Crikey!" Cait Sith yelled, and Zack yelled back in response, searching for the nearest sharp object. Marlene and Tifa jumped and turned to see what was going on. "What the heck is this thing?" Zack looked over at Marlene, seeming as though he was frightened for his life. "What are ya doin'?" Cait Sith asked grouchily. "Interruptin' my sleep?"  
"But you're a stuffed animal!" Zack protested. "They don't sleep!" Marlene held back a giggle. "Oooh you wanna go low do ya?" Cait accused, even more grouchy. "Callin me stuffed! Why would you do such a thing?" Zack put his hands up. "Look dude, I didn't mean to offend you or anything, it's just that I didn't expect the random cat doll that I barely poked to come to life!"  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Cait asked, scratching his head for a moment. Zack took a few heavy breaths. "Um . . . that . . . you're not supposed to wake up?" Cait Sith immediately straightened up. "Alright! That's it laddy! You're out!" Zack put his hands down. "Wait, what?" And no sooner had he said that then Cait Sith had jumped up and kicked the side of his head, knocking him out.  
Cait Sith returned to his favorite place to sleep, grumbling until he reached it and had fallen back to sleep.  
Then Tifa and Marlene burst out laughing. "Alright, I will admit," Tifa managed to choke out, "That is definitely Zack." Marlene laughed and nodded. Then black mucus caught in her throat again, and she stopped laughing to hack it up. "Marlene?" Tifa asked worried. "Oh my god . . ." She saw the mucus that Marlene had coughed up.  
"I'm sorry about that," Marlene started to apologize, but Tifa shook her head firmly. "You don't need to apologize for being sick. But please, tell me what's going on, because that looks like goestigma. Please tell me you don't have geostigma Marlene." Marlene looked up at her with serious eyes. "Well what am I supposed to say then?" "Oh my god," Tifa said agin, and then held Marlene closely.  
"I just got you back, please don't tell me I"m going to lose you again." 

* * *

"Dammit Aramea!" Rufus yelled. "What are you doing back here in Edge? I told you to assist us in the capture of Sephiroth! Not walk straight back here on some sort of sick charity mission!" Aramea stood calmly, waiting for the fury in his eyes to die before she responded. It was a long, uncomfortable silence as he finally started to calm down. He took several deep breaths, and finally sat down in his large chair. "Are you sane again?' Aramea asked, not entirely meaning to mock him.  
He glared up at her, but nodded. "Alright then." She said, sitting down in the chair in front of his desk. Then, she started to calmly answer his accusations. "You told me to assist you in the capture of Sephiroth. And I have. He's headed towards Nibelheim right now. I'm sure your men will be able to effectively pursue him there." Rufus's angry pout turned into a twisted grin. "Well then."  
"And as for the matter of my 'charity mission.'" Aramea said, standing up and letting some of her anger show. "It is none of your business to know what I do to help other people, except to know that I regret ever having helped you." She turned to walk out of his office. "When you learn the truth about your parents, I think your tune will change." Rufus said, stopping her in her tracks. She turned around to face him, biting her tongue so hard it bled. Tears came to her eyes from the pain, but she didn't care.  
She quickly walked back up to his desk and slapped him as hard as she could. Twice. A third time. She stopped herself before she could do any more damage. "Oh yeah?" She said in the sweetest voice she could manage. "We'll see about that. I'm really starting to wonder if knowing about the lives of dead people is worth the death of a friend." As she walked away from a dumbfounded Rufus, she finally let the tears fall.  
She was ashamed of herself as she walked out into the hallway, tears flowing freely. As she walked towards the exit, her steps started to speed up. Slowly, she started to run, faster and faster, not caring where her feet took her. She was ashamed of where they already had. When she couldn't run any more, she collapsed on the ground, sobbing.  
She stared at the grass for what seemed like hours, not grasping where she was, until a small sparrow landed next to her muddy hands. It chirped sadly, and hopped over to look directly at her eyes.  
Immediately, she stopped breathing, afraid she would frighten it. It chirped again, and leaned its head to one side. She did her best not to move. But when her need for oxygen took over, and she inhaled sharply, it still stood where it had been, looking up at her with intelligent small eyes. Then it suddenly took off, flying up into the now dark sky.  
After it had faded into the darkness, she looked back down, seeing the bench where she and Sephiroth had first met. And still lying on it, was the book that he had been reading. She slowly picked it up, and clutched it to her chest, letting the tears fall again.


	23. Chapter 23

Genesis took a deep breath, checking behind himself to see the others catching up. Knowing that it made them uncomfortable, he retracted his wing, inhaling sharply as the darkness settled inside of him again. He'd learned to be wary of that darkness.

"We aren't far now." Cloud said aloud to Denzel, who was breathing heavily. "Not used to long travels, are we?" Genesis asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, as usual. Denzel looked up at him, and caught his breath. "Not really." "Well he's right, we're less than half of a mile away."

Sephiroth finally caught up, a grim expression on his face. Apparently listening to Barrett talking for three hours wasn't his favorite thing to do. Barrett followed directly behind him, stopping to take a deep breath after an incredibly long sentence. "Are you sure she'll be here?" Sephiroth rushed, taking advantage of the short silence.

Genesis nodded. "I can feel her." Cloud raised a brow. "Excuse me?" Genesis looked over at him, also having raised a brow. "Jenova. She's close."

"Denzel, stay close." Cloud commanded as they walked into the small town. Denzel begrudgingly did as he said, still looking around the town, curious about the place where Cloud and Tifa had grown up. "I think I remember this place," Sephiroth thought aloud. "Is that so?" Vincent asked, seeming intrigued by his statement. Sephiroth nodded. "The memories are clouded, but, something about this town, these buildings," He paused to look up at the taller buildings, "Something's familiar."

"Well that's no surprise." Genesis mused. "This is the town you burned down almost ten years ago." Sephiroth looked back down from his gaze. "I know." Cloud, who had been listening to the conversation, warily eyed his two former enemies as they walked ahead to check into the Nibelheim Inn. "I don't like being here again," Vincent said after a moment. "Something feels off." Cloud nodded, suspiciously walking the townspeople walk by. "You're right."

* * *

_"Sokira!"_ She turned over in her sleep, trying to block out her mother's voice_. "Sokira wake up!" _ She pulled the blanket over her head, trying to stop herself from reaching consciousness. "No," She mumbled. _"Yes."_ She bolted upright, out from underneath the blankets, and hopped onto the cold wooden floor.

"How did you do that Mother?" Sokira asked, her eyes open wide. Jenova had never, ever, had that much control over her actions before. Jenova chuckled. _"I told you to wake up, silly." _ She rolled her eyes. "I suppose you did. What's wrong?"

_"He's close. And he's not alone." _

"I see." Sokira immediately moved to pick up her weapon and sling it onto her back. _"We must be ready."_ Jenova stated, musing over the different methods that she could use to kill Genesis and the others. Sokira nodded. "I know. We cannot fail again." _"And we won't."_ Jenova finished, confident.

* * *

Marlene took a deep breath, enjoying the warmth of the shower water against her sore back. After being away from plumbing from so long, she doubted that she would ever take it for granted again. When the water turned cold, she sighed, and guessed that it was a hint that she'd had a long enough shower. So she stepped out, and looked into the mirror for the first time.

She barely recognized herself. Her hair had grown quite a bit, and was already starting to turn into soft waves. Her eyes were tired, but strong, and her jaw had lost some of its childhood softness, having turned into a gentle oval shape. There were slight wrinkles in between her brows, and she gasped in frustration, planning to steal some of Tifa's wrinkle cream later and take care of them.

Then, she sat down on the edge of the tub and started to properly bandage her legs. She'd had a lot of practice at it before, when Denzel had geostigma, so she had the job done quickly and neatly. Carefully stepping into her pants, she buttoned them up, finding them surprisingly loose. She rolled her eyes. "Shopping trip here I come," She mumbled, finding a comfortable top to wear.

After she had checked the mirror and combed her hair through once again, she carefully stepped down the stairs to find Zack devouring the breakfast that Tifa had apparently prepared for him. She laughed, taking the last few steps down. "Marlene!" Zack smiled up at her. Tifa simply stepped up and pulled her into another tight hug. "I made some of your favorite breakfast." She informed her after stepping back and allowing the younger woman to breathe.

"Muffins and hashbrowns?" Marlene smiled. Tifa nodded and set a plate down on the bar next to Zack. "I'm closing the bar down tonight, we'll be free to catch up and take it easy, alright?" Starting to eat her breakfast, Marlene smiled and nodded. "But," She carefully chewed and swallowed a piece of her hashbrown, "what if I wanted to do some stuff today?" Tifa leaned her head to one side. "Like what?" Marlene shrugged. "Like, show Zack around town, or get some ice cream, or go and see Reeve and Mai?"

"Oh!" Tifa suddenly exclaimed. "What?" Marlene asked, her interest peaked. "Mai doesn't know you're back yet! Let me call her and let her know." Tifa replied. "Um . . . who's Mai?" Zack asked, having finished his food already. Marlene held her glass of orange juice absentmindedly, watching Tifa run upstairs to the phone. "She's a good friend of mine." Zack leaned back, stretching his arms out. "Cool,"

She nodded. "Yep." Zack hopped up off of his chair and walked around to behind her. Then, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and placed his head against her shoulder. She felt her cheeks turn beet red. "You're really cute today you know," He said, almost nonchalantly. She stared down at her food, suddenly having lost her appetite. "Uh, thanks."

"I was wondering," He continued, and she felt her stomach twist into knots. "The guy that was in the field with the rest of us, you know, the other teenager, was that the same guy that you have feelings for?" Marlene breathed out, relieved that was his only question. "Well, yes and no." She thought for a moment, carefully deciding what her answer would be. "Yes, that was Denzel. But, no, I don't have feelings for him anymore. At least, not romantic ones."

"Really?" Zack asked, his tone incredibly bright. She nodded, still perfectly aware of the bright blush on her face. Tifa came down the stairs a few moments later, and looked at the two of them oddly before taking the last step down and saying something. "Mai is thrilled that you're back and that you're safe Marlene, she wants to see as soon as possible."

Marlene breathed another sigh in relief, glad that she didn't ask any other questions. Then she gently pushed Zack away, and stood up. "Then we'll go as soon as you're ready, Tifa." Tifa nodded. "I'll be just a little while." Then she very carefully eyed Zack before running back up the stairs. Marlene held back a giggle, and turned around to see Zack looking warily at Cait Sith. She sighed, rolling her eyes, and walked over to gently wake up the small doll. "Cait Sith," She whispered into its ear, "Time to wake up."

Immediately, it sprung to life. "Oh! Marlene you're back!" It cried happily, hopping up into her arms. She laughed and held it close. "Yeah, I am." Then it spotted Zack. "And I see you're back as well." He nodded. "You're not going to hurt me again, are you?" Marlene and Cait both laughed aloud, while Zack, who was perfectly serious, received no answer.

* * *

Denzel looked around himself, and walked away, unnoticed by Cloud and Vincent. He had wandered into the town square, and was looking up at the water tower, trying to decide whether or not he should climb to the top, when a darkly cloaked figure bumped into him and look down at him angrily.

He caught a glimpse of their eyes, and held his breath. She smiled knowingly down at him, and then continued on her way without saying a word.

After watching her silently find her way to a small mountain path, he took a deep breath, grasped the gun that was in his pocket, and decided to follow her.


	24. Chapter 24

Sephiroth breathed deeply, preparing himself for some rest, and then closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep. "Hey," Genesis said, keeping him conscious for a short while longer. "I'm going to go look around town, see if any of the locals know anything about Sokira." "Alright." Sephiroth responded, and then continued to fall asleep.

The one who awoke him next was certainly not Genesis. "Hey, silver headed freak, wake up." A deep raspy voice with a thick foreign accent commanded, and he opened his eyes immediately. Looking around, he noted that he was in what seemed to be a cellar or very crude basement. Then he realized that his arms were tied behind his back onto the chair he'd been seated on.

He looked over at the one who had awoken him. "Who are you?" The owner of the raspy voice laughed. "Like I'm going to tell you." Sephiroth tried to free his hands, but his effort was greeted with sharp pain in both his wrists. The man chuckled. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you struggle too much the poison on those barbs might just get into your blood system."

Sephiroth immediately stopped. "Poison?" His captor laughed. "Only for you. There's a compound infused into that metal that will make any mako enhanced tissue rot from the inside out. So if you'd rather not know what it feels like to be a living corpse, you'll stay still." Sephiroth breathed deeply. "How did you kidnap me?"

His question was answered with a rough punch to the face. "I'm the one who will ask questions, not you." He felt blood fill his mouth, and he stared angrily at the one who had just hurt him. Another man stepped behind Sephiroth and spoke in a language that he wasn't familiar with. The rude man spoke back in the same language, and the intruder walked away. "It seems that you have a visitor."

Then the sound of business shoes greeted his ears, they stepped down seven stairs, until they reached the spot where he was being held. And then, his 'visitor' came into sight. "I thought that I told you to keep him in the same condition you found him in." The blonde haired man said. Sephiroth stared at him, sure that he knew who that man was, yet unable to put the face with a name. "I'm sorry sir, but he wouldn't stop asking me questions." His captor shrugged.

"Well you should've just answered them then." Was the reply. Then the blonde turned back to him. "Well Sephiroth, we meet again." "Again?" Sephiroth questioned. "I see you don't remember me." The blonde said, a slight amount of mock sadness in his voice. "I suppose I'll refresh your memory then. I am Rufus Shin-Ra."

Hundreds of strange memories flowed through Sephiroth's mind at the mention of that name. After he had processed them, he looked back up at Rufus. "You son of a - " Another punch stopped him from finishing that sentence. "Well it's good to know that you remember me." Sephiroth spat out a mouthful of blood onto the floor. "How the hell did I forget?"

"Good question." Rufus mused, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "Ask me a few others." Sephiroth shook his head. Rufus sighed, and motioned to the rougher man in the room. He swiftly stepped up and punched Sephiroth's stomach. After he had finished recovering from that, Rufus smiled briefly. "Now, ask me something."

"What do you want from me?" Sephiroth asked, attempting to breathe normally again. Rufus chuckled. "I don't want anything. It's my Professor Hojo who would like to have you back again. Ask me something else." Once again, memories flooded through Sephiroth's mind, and this time it took longer for him to process them. Rufus smiled again. "I see that you remember him as well."

Sephiroth shook his head, attempting to forget what he had just remembered. "What does he want from me?" Rufus shrugged. "Who knows what that lunatic has in mind? But as long as it gets me results, and keeps my monthly quota up, I don't really care. Next question."

"How did you find me?"

Rufus slapped his knee, laughing aloud. "There it is! That's what I've been waiting for you to ask." Sephiroth stared at him like he had three heads. "What are you talking about?" Rufus managed to pull himself together. "Well you see, we had a little help." Sephiroth didn't like where this was going. "From whom?" "Your new lady friend." Rufus stated, very matter-of-factly. "Aramea?" Sephiroth breathed, his eyes opening wide. "No, she wouldn't do that." Rufus smiled wickedly. "Or would she?" He motioned again, and once again the rough man stepped forward and punched Sephiroth in the face, knocking him out. 

* * *

Aramea opened her eyes slowly, waiting for them to adjust to the light. After a few moments, she realized she was still in the garden, clutching the book close to her chest. She sat up, sore from sleeping on the ground all night. Her eyes were dry from crying so much, and she blinked, hoping that they would stop stinging.

After she was sure she was awake, she got up and began to brush herself off. "Miss Wyndsbayne!" She heard someone call. She turned to see another guard running towards her with a large envelope in tow. "Yes, Ensign?" She responded, trying to ignore the fact that he was suspiciously eying the leaves in her hair. "This is for you, ma'am, from Rufus Shin-Ra."

Her eyes opened wide. "Thank you." She took the envelope, and stared at it for a short moment. When she looked back up, she saw that the ensign was still standing there, awkwardly. "You're dismissed," She immediately said, and he nodded and ran back off without a word. Taking a deep breath, she went to sit down on the bench. After a short moment of simply staring at the seal, she ripped it open.

She turned over the first page and began reading. After she reached the fifth line, she froze. She read it again. And again.

Then she felt anger growing in her veins. "So Genesis is my father," She said slowly. "And, _she_ is my mother." She stood up unable to keep still. The anger she was experiencing right now wouldn't allow her to. She'd been lied to, her entire life. She'd been hurt, used, coerced, and to what end? To find out that everything she knew was a lie?

Her breathing started to become shallow as she paced back and forth, processing the truth. "No no _no no_, this can't be right!" She screamed. _"What the hell have I done?" _

That was the last thing she could take. All of the anger she was experiencing was pushed over the edge by the realization of the hate she had for herself. She felt something begin to burn inside of her, stronger than anything she had ever felt before. Slowly, it moved from the pit of her stomach to the center of her being, where it grew even worse.

She started to scream in pain as the burning started to move again, this time to her back, where it started to break through her skin. She felt her skin start to tear where it was forcing itself out, and she screamed again when she realized she was helpless to stop it.

And then, when she had been through more pain than she had thought possible, everything stopped. She took several deep breaths before opening her eyes again. What she saw was not what she had expected.

All around her, there was light. Simple, warm, light. She did her best to stand up again, curious where the light was coming from. Much to her surprise, when she moved, the light did as well. Then she became aware of the weight placed on her back, and the strange feeling that there was something different about her body. She felt lighter, somehow.

Curious, and somewhat afraid, she turned her head to see what had happened. She inhaled sharply when she caught a glimpse of it.

Extending from her back in a graceful curve, was a huge, radiant, white wing.


	25. Chapter 25

"Marlene!" Mai squeaked, running out to hug her. "Oh my god it's so good to see you!" Marlene laughed and hugged the hyper girl back. "Right back at you." "Hey Mai!" Tifa greeted from a bit farther back, where she was walking with Zack. "Hi Tifa!" Mai waved back, and then continued to chat away with Marlene.

Tifa turned to the young man beside her. "You're going to treat her right, aren't you?" Zack looked over at her from his gaze at Marlene. "Of course, Mrs. Strife." Tifa chuckled and reached up slightly to ruffle his spiky hair. "Just call me Tifa. But I"ll hold you to that promise, remember that." Zack nodded solemnly. "I will."

"Come on guys!" Mai yelled from the doorstep, where she and Marlene were waiting. "I made cookies!" Marlene's eyes grew wide. "Cookies?" Mai turned and nodded. Marlene took her hand. "Show me where they are." Mai giggled and took her hand, leading her into the kitchen where the cookies were resting on a plate. Marlene squealed and grabbed one, immediately taking a bite of the chocolate goodness.

"Let me get you some milk, ok?" Mai giggled as she watched Marlene consume her cooking. "Do I hear our visitors?" Reeve asked, walking into the kitchen and adjusting his long sleeves. "I think you do," Mai smiled up at him. Tifa and Zack came into the kitchen. "Good morning Reeve," Tifa greeted. "Good morning." Reeve responded, shaking her hand. He noticed Zack. "And who might this be?"  
Marlene smiled and hopped over to hug Zack. "This is Zack Fair." Reeve raised a brow. "I see." Then he turned to Tifa. "I would like to talk with you for a moment." He gestured towards his office. "If you would," Tifa nodded. "Of course." They disappeared into the ornate room.

Mai pulled some milk out of the fridge for Zack, who was already working on his third cookie. "So what was it like? Being held prisoner, I mean . . ." Marlene's chewing slowed down drastically. After she had swallowed, she answered Mai's question. "It was . . . lonely." Mai frowned and sat down at the table, patting the chair next to her. Marlene sat down and stared at the cookie she was holding. "Genesis wasn't around much? I would consider that a relief."

Marlene set the cookie down and pushed it towards Zack, who was more than willing to eat another. "He wasn't around much, and I think he knew I was lonely. That's why he woke Zack up . . . I think." Zack gulped down some milk. "You know, he never said why." Marlene shrugged. "I guess he never felt like it was necessary." Mai shook her head. "So, he wanted to help you? Even though he'd taken you hostage." Marlene smiled sadly. "I guess so." Then she took a deep breath and stretched out. "But let's not think about that ok? I just got back, there's so much other stuff to talk about!"

"Alright then." Mai smiled. "How's Denzel?" Marlene turned to her, slightly surprised. "You don't know?" Mai shook her head. "I haven't been able to get a hold of him." Marlene frowned. "I'll have to bug him about that when he gets back. Well when _I_ saw him he seemed fine. He was happy to see me," She slightly bit her lip. "And I was surprised that he'd come along." Mai nodded. "I was surprised that Cloud let him come along. Of course, it did take some convincing." She laughed a little. "What do you mean?" Marlene and Zack asked in unison.

"He had to show his materia to Cloud before he would agree to let him come along." Marlene instinctively grabbed her necklace. "Materia?" Mai nodded. "Another piece of the crystal that your pendant came from. From what Reeve's told me, it's what led them to you." Marlene smiled thoughtfully. "What is it?" Zack asked; by now he'd consumed at least a third of the cookies on the plate and was patting his stomach contentedly. Marlene looked up at him. "He told me it was good luck when he gave it to me." Mai smiled. "And it was."

Marlene laughed. "Well actually, it wasn't. The day after he gave it to me I was kidnaped." Mai laughed with her. "Good point." Marlene turned her head and caught sight of the baby grand piano resting in the living room. "You didn't tell me you had a piano now!" Mai got up and headed towards it. "Yeah, it was my birthday present from Reeve. He really spoils me." Marlene got up, and took a few steps towards it, before pain shot up through her heel and she nearly doubled over.

Zack immediately got up and put a supportive arm around her waist. Mai came over and inspected her with concerned eyes. "Did your foot get hurt or something?" Marlene shook her head. "Not exactly. Zack," She looked up at him, "Would you help me to the couch?" He nodded, and promptly pick her up. She rolled her eyes. "Zack, it's four steps away." He grinned. "I know." Mai looked at him knowingly, but said nothing.  
He set Marlene down on the couch gently, and leaned down to roll up her pant leg. Mai saw the bandages with dark spots, and her brows began to furrow. Slowly, and carefully, Marlene pulled off her shoe, and unraveled a part of the bandage. "I um," She started to say, "You have geostigma." Mai finished, her voice flat. She turned to Zack. "We've got a long walk ahead of us, you think you can carry her all the way?" "What?" Marlene asked. "Most definitely." He answered. "Alright, then let's go." Mai said, heading towards the front door.

* * *

Opening his eyes slowly, Sephiroth was greeted by the same greasy face he had seen before. "Damn," The raspy voice said, "You healed up quick." Turning his head, and aside from finding that he had a slight case of whiplash, Sephiroth was surprised to find that raspy's statement had been correct. He could breathe normally, and his jaw had no trace of soreness. Yet, something felt wrong in his mind. He attempted to pinpoint what it was, but couldn't find it. "It took you long enough to wake back up," Rufus's voice complained. "I didn't get the chance to ask you everything I wanted to."

_"Well isn't that a shame."_ A sweet voice said bitterly. "Wait, who said that?" Sephiroth asked, looking around the room to the best of his abilities. "Who said what?" Raspy asked. "You didn't hear that?" Sephiroth asked, confused. "No, we didn't." Rufus answered, walking around to face Sephiroth with a lit cigar in his hand. "Your head feeling alright buddy?" He teased, and smacked the side of his head. _"He's perfectly marvelous."_ The same sweet voice answered. "There it was again," He said through ground teeth.

"I think he's losing his mind Gunahm." Rufus stated matter of factly. "Seems that way." Greasy Gunahm said, chuckling. "He's gone cuckoo." _"I prefer the term 'mentally enlightened."_ The velvet voice jokingly sneered back. "Who are you?" Sephiroth asked, closing his eyes.

_"I am Jenova Supreme, your mother." _

His eyes flashed open. "My mother?" _"Yes."_ Jenova answered, sweetly. _"I have missed you, my child. Now, be free!"_ Sephiroth felt the metal around his wrists begin to grow hot. "Hey!" Gunahm slapped him sharply across his cheek. "Your superior just asked you a question." "Did he now?" Sephiroth unwillingly said in unison with Jenova. "I must've missed it." Gunahm held up his fist threateningly. "Well pay attention this time, or else." Rufus leaned forward and took his cigar out of his mouth, which turned to a mocking smile.

"Would you mind if I made Aramea my girl? She certainly is a pretty woman, I'm sure you're aware of that. But that's not her only attractive quality. She's . . . feisty. I like that in a lover." Sephiroth's anger burned in tempo with the metal holding him back. "You wouldn't dare." Rufus winked and dropped his now ruined cigar onto the ground. "Yes, actually, I would." Sephiroth closed his eyes angrily. _"Be free . . ."_ Jenova whispered, and the heat spread to his skin. A sick feeling pounded in his chest, and he felt the bonds break as the metal melted and fell apart.

He stood up, feeling heat sear over his entire body. He held up one of his hands to see dark flames engulfing it. The room grew dark as the heat intensified, and Sephiroth watched as Gunahm and Rufus stared at him in horror. _"Do not be afraid my child,"_ Jenova sweetly reassured him. Sephiroth nodded, and raised one arm, feeling power surge through it; the power took shape in the form of Masamune, which, strangely, felt familiar. He raised the other arm, and felt the darkness inside of him take form. He didn't have to turn his head to know what had happened.

_"Now, you are free."_ Jenova said happily. _"Dispose of them." _ Sephiroth nodded and stepped forward, swiftly impaling Gunahm, who had attempted to run for the exit. "There will be no escape for you." He said, in a voice that was almost alien in it's coldness. Tossing the limp body roughly back onto the floor, he turned to Rufus, who was trapped against the back wall. Sephiroth chuckled at the sight of Rufus being so afraid.  
"So afraid of death, are you?" He asked in unison with Jenova. "You are truly a coward. You pretend to live, using meaningless power to control people, yet you feel dead inside. And now," He chuckled again, "Now that you are forced to know the consequences of that pretend life, and that part of you has come alive again, you will die." Rufus simply stared at him, his expression slowly falling into a careful started pounding on the level above them, and Sephiroth knew that more men were coming. "Wait for me here." Sephiroth said, knocking his victim out with the hilt of his sword.

Not caring to use the door, he cast a dark spell to break through the floor and confront the new enemies. He looked around himself to see seventeen men with standard sub machine guns all aimed at him. _"We will easily take them out."_ Jenova commented, smug. "Yes, we will." Sephiroth agreed.

He raised his arm, and they immediately shot at him. He chuckled as he easily evaded the bullets. They whirred past him, and into a man who had been standing behind him, who fell with a sickening thud. He chuckled, and quickly finished off the one who had fired. With blood dripping from Masamune, he turned to several others. With a raise of his arm, they caught fire, and he closed his eyes, not wishing to see their demise.

Then a bullet sliced through the top of his forearm. He sighed, and opened his eyes again, seeing that the rest of the building had started to catch on fire. Turning around, he saw the man who had shot him. Feeling bored of this fight, he quickly took out the rest of the men with a flare. _"Well done."_ Jenova cooed. Sephiroth closed his eyes, and jumped back down to Rufus.

He looked down at the unconscious man. _"He is all that is left. Take him out."_ Jenova ordered. Sephiroth simply stood there, unmoving. _"Sephiroth, kill him. For what he's done to you, and to Sokira." _ "No." Sephiroth answered. "No Mother, I will not."_ "What?_" She yelled angrily. "I won't let you take control. Not this time."

_"You don't have a choice."_ She snarled. Sephiroth nodded. "Yes, I do. I've already chosen. You are not my master." He raised Masamune up, and prepared to strike. "You, are not my mother." And with that, he cut off his dark wing.


	26. Chapter 26

"Where are we going?" Marlene asked curiously, craning her neck around so she could watch in front of her and Zack. "Where do you think?" Mai asked, turning around briefly to face her. "Where you should've gone the second you got back here! I can't believe noone else thought of this." Something clicked in Marlene's head. "Oh!" Zack pursed his lips. "What is it?" "We're going to church." Marlene simply answered. Mai laughed. "That's one way of putting it." Zack shifted Marlene's weight in his arms so that he could be more comfortable. "Why are we going there?" Marlene leaned her head against Zack's chest, feeling tired. "You'll see when we get there." He smiled down at her for a split second, then nodded, saying nothing else.

A short walk later, and they were there. Zack slowed as they approached the church steps. "Wait a second," He stared at the battered wooden doors. "Why do I feel like I know this place?" Marlene bit her lip. "I'm not exactly sure." She pushed against him slightly, and he let her down. She followed Mai into the stone building. He stared after her, then followed.

Marlene took a deep breath as she approached the water. Finally, finally, she would be free of her geostigma. She wondered how Denzel had lived through it for so long. But it's not like that mattered any more. Soon it would all be behind her. She reached the small pool of water, and stood over it's edge precariously. "Well what are you waiting for?" Mai suddenly exclaimed, and pushed her, head over heels, into the water. .

She came up spurting and soaked. Mai was laughing like a maniac, and Zack stood in the back corner of the church, looking amused, but still slightly confused and detached. Marlene stared at Mai, not as amused, but thrilled with the fact that her geostigma was finally gone . . . or was it? Her legs didn't feel any different, in fact, they almost felt dead in the holy water.

Her stomach fell to the pit of her torso. "Mai?" She asked, brows furrowed. "Could you help me up out of here?" Mai held back a giggle. "Sure." She took hold of Marlene's hands and helped her out of the water. "What is it?" She asked when she noticed the expression on her friend's face. Marlene shook her head and sat down at the edge of the water. Pulling up her soaked pant legs, she took a few deep breaths before removing the bandages.

Nothing had changed.

She was still sick.

* * *

Sokira smiled slightly as she walked through the think mountain trails. That boy was still following her; apparently he thought he was being sneaky enough for her not to notice him. _"What exactly does he believe he's doing?"_ Jenova asked, starting to get annoyed at their newly acquired shadow. "I have no idea." Sokira answered. _"Wait, stop."_ Jenova ordered, and Sokira complied. "What is it?"

_ "Your brother, he has come back to us!"_ Jenova said, the joy in her voice unmistakable. "What?" Sokira asked, visibly jolting at the news. "Sephiroth?" _"Yes,"_ Jenova purred. _"He has come back."_ Sokira smiled, relieved. Even now she could hear his whispers of thoughts. _"Now, quickly,"_ Jenova started, _"We must keep moving."_ Sokira nodded, and resumed walking.

Not long after, she became aware of the fact that something was wrong, Jenova was silent; a dark aura had slowly crept into her mind. She tried to ask what was wrong, but received no answer. As she started ascending the last hill, she realized what had happened. "Mother?" She asked, fear starting to break through into her thoughts. "Why can't I hear him?"

There was no response. "Mother?" She asked again, worried. A footstep sounded from behind her, and she slowly turned in that direction, angry that her Mother would not respond. After seeing the boy duck his head, she seriously considered lopping it off and being rid of the little pest.

_"Wait, child."_ Came Jenova's voice; Sokira let out a tense breath, amazed at how sweet it sounded. _"His time has not come yet, but it will, soon."_ She smiled, ascending the steps into the abandoned mako reactor. After she had become completely shrouded in the darkness that had awaited her inside, she ran to the core.

There she found what she had, unknowingly, been searching for. Encased in a huge pod, she could see its glowing eyes watching her, patiently waiting to be released. She walked up to the small, round window and pressed her forehead to the cool glass.

"Awaken, Zealot."

At once, the summon broke through its bonds as though they were made of straw. Slowly, it approached its new master, and leaned its head down to be level with her face. After a short, but tense moment, it closed its eyes and let its head reached the floor; she stroked its thick neck.

_ "I have missed you,"_ Jenova cooed, and Sokira couldn't shake the feeling that even though she did not remember this creature, she had missed it too.

Then Zealot's glowing eyes opened suddenly, and the creak of an old iron door echoed through the dark chamber. "It's the boy." Came a deep, unearthly voice; Sokira realized that it was Zealot who had just spoken. _"Yes."_ Jenova confirmed his statement. _"Sokira, dispose of the nuisance. Zealot, wait here and regain your strength. You will need all of it in the battle to come."_ "Yes, my master." Zealot answered, and closed its eyes, taking deep and steady breaths as it gathered its strength together.

Sokira smiled at her new pet, then jumped. She reached the ceiling, then jumped off of it onto the pipes that ran from the core to the entrance, silently creeping along until she saw her prey. He was walking clumsily, loudly, curiously looking around at the different mechanisms. She halfway smiled and shook her head at him.

He looked up the staircase and saw the door leading to the room that she had just exited. A lightly confused look covered his face. "Jenova?" He asked quietly, staring at the inscription above it. Then she decided she'd waited long enough, she jumped down, landing directly in front of him. "You called?" She asked with a smirk.

The boy's face changed from confusion to absolute fear within a split second. He reached for an object that was in his jacket, she knocked it out of his hand as soon as he had gotten a grip on it. He cursed, and attempted to jump towards it. She caught him by the neck before he had gotten anywhere. Something snapped, and he let out a slight yell.

She lifted him up to where she could see his face clearly, and smiled darkly when Jenova noticed that he had once had geostigma. Then she threw him down onto the floor, smiling when she heard one of his legs snap loudly. He did his best to get up, but staggered slightly as he did so. He was pitiful, the only way he could stand up was if he was leaning against something.

He glared up at her, true hatred burning in his eyes. But that would do nothing to save him now.

"Tell me," Sokira smiled down at the helpless boy in front of her. "How long has it been since the taste of blood stained your tongue?" She lifted her arm and punched his face, knocking him to the ground with a loud thud.

He lifted his torso back up slowly, holding the nose she had just broken. She smiled again at the sight of blood dripping down his face. He kept his gaze on her eyes as he stood up again, his legs wobbling underneath him.

"What do you want?" He asked slowly. Sokira laughed. "What do I want?" She drew her sword, still laughing. "What do I want?" She asked again, smiling at him.

She unfurled her wing, and in a burst of speed, ran her blade through his stomach and into the wall behind him, pinning him down like a piece of paper. "What I want, is for this world to die. I want to watch as your insignificant race drowns in its own blood."

His face twisted as a result of his pain, and his breathing staggered. Sokira watched as blood trickled out of his mouth, and smugly grinned at him.

She started pulling her blade back, slowly; each centimeter of progress greeted her with the smell of more blood. And she reveled in it.

"Soon, mother," She said as the boy's eyes started to roll back into his head, "Soon."

_"Sokira!" _

Sokira didn't need to turn around to know who had screamed her name in fury. "Welcome back Sephiroth." She yanked the last few inches of her blade out of her first victim. "Sokira what the hell have you done?" He screamed as the boy fell to the ground behind her.

She didn't reply, she simply chuckled.

"Sokira answer me!" He yelled, Masamune appearing in his hand. She turned around, pointing her bloodied hand at him. "I do not take orders from you, traitor!" "I am no traitor," He replied, angrily raising his sword. "You are the one who betrayed me, and Genesis." She shook her head. "Enough of this." She closed her eyes, and called.

Her call was answered, and Zealot appeared in front of Sephiroth, towering over her enemy's body like a giant towering over a small child. "Zealot, finish him."

* * *

Sephiroth stared up at his new opponent. It towered over him, its dragon-like wings and body shimmering with the light blue of purified mako. And its eyes glowed a burning white, with no pupil, but somehow he knew that it was looking directly at him. Then it took two steps forward and raised its head, opening its mouth and letting out an otherworldly shriek. It lowered its head again and snorted, blue flames coming from its nostrils.

Behind it, Sokira turned and walked calmly back to the reactor core, continuing the task that her mother had entrusted to her.

"So," A deep and terrible voice came, Sephiroth stared at the creature that had just spoken. "This is how you will end, my lost brother." Shaken, Sephiroth raised Masamune and prepared to fight.

"Actually, this is how _you're_ gonna end." Sephiroth jerked around to see Cloud and the others standing behind him, their weapons raised and ready to attack. Then Cloud stepped up to stand next toSephiroth. "Think you could use a little help?" Barrett chuckled. "Looks like you need it to me!" Sephiroth managed to smile. "Thanks."

Then the creature raised one of its arms and struck down with unimaginable strength where Sephiroth had been standing a split second before. When it saw that it had missed, it dug its claws into the metal, leaving long sections of ripped metal.

Barrett was the first to fall, he had been careless and stood in one spot too long; subsequently he was knocked into a wall and was thoroughly unconscious.

Vincent was not so easily defeated though. He was doing well, and had just landed a bullet in one of the creature's eyes, but in its rage, the creature swung its arms wildly, so wildly that noone was sure where they would land next. In his attempt to evade one of the clawed hands, he was pummeled by the other, and Sephiroth heard a sickening crunch as he hit the ground. With a second glance, Sephiroth was relieved tosee that the injured man was still breathing, and far enough away from the fight so that he would not be injured further.

Cloud angrily screamed at the creature and charged, with Sephiroth from the side, towards the creature. In mid-leap, Cloud activated his limit break, and Sephiroth cast haste onto himself. In coordination, they attacked it simultaneously, each hit in rhythm with the other. The creature started to scream in pain, but its attackers were not finished yet. They dealt several more blows, and then, when Cloud's spirit energy, and Sephiroth's spell had almost faded, they struck one more time. Upon that final blow, the creature screamed louder than anything they had ever heard before, and collapsed onto the metal, fading away with a blue mist.

Sephiroth took several deep breaths, then stood up fully, smiling over at Cloud in relief. But Cloud didn't seem to be doing as well as he had thought. Blood soaked through his shirt and stained his blonde hair, and his breaths were hard and heavy. Sephiroth realized that there were three long mars across his chest. Cloud dropped his sword, then sat down slowly, painfully.

"Well what are you waiting for?" He asked with an almost nonchalant tone, and nodded towards the broken down door. "She's right in there, isn't she?" Sephiroth nodded, and turned away, walking into the chamber where Sokira stood. Wisps of tainted lifestream came up all around her, and she raised her arms, absorbing it. "Sokira," He said quietly. "You don't have to do this."

She didn't turn, but she lowered her head, shaking it. "I see you have defeated Zealot, that's too bad. I was really starting to like him." Sephiroth let his sword down. "Please Sokira," She slightly turned her head in his direction. He took a slight breath. "I know it seems like you can't escape her, but you can." Suddenly, she let her arms down and turned towards him. "You mean like you did? In case you'd forgotten, I'm alive only because of Mother. I will not betray her like you did. She deserves better."

Sephiroth raised Masamune again, saying nothing. Sokira summoned her blade, anger starting to flare up in her chest as she felt the tainted lifestream extend all the way to the end of her wing. "But what do you deserve?" He asked quietly, sadly. She paid no attention to that though, and swung her sword to cut at his chest, which he barely dodged. He in turn struck her side, but she barely felt anything and chuckled at him.

"Still not a Tsviet I see," She said with dark humor. This caught him off guard, and she grabbed hold of his sword, hitting him with the hilt. "You never were good enough to be one anyway." He took his sword back from her grasp, but unwittingly walked backwards onto the edge of the staircase and started to lose his balance.

Sokira smiled as she saw Sephiroth start to lose his footing, and drew her blade back for one final attack.

As soon as her blade was about to pierce into him and end his miserable existence, something flashed in front of her.

She felt cold metal pierce through her chest at the same time her sword passed through the interrupter.

"Ge . . . Genesis . . ."

She stared at his face, feeling blood start to flow into her lungs. Vaguely, she was aware of the tainted lfestream fading around her, "Sokira," His soft voice said, somehow still strong even though her blade was lodged in his stomach. "I'm sorry."

She attempted to make sense of everything through Jenova's defiant screams.

"What do you mean?" She could feel Jenova's control slipping away.

"It's my fault. All of this is." He said, reaching up for her face, letting go of the blade that was killing him.

"What?" She asked again, still confused. Too much was happening at once, she didn't understand any of it.

"When they brought you back from that mission, and you were . . ." He struggled to speak, "Dead, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't accept the fact that you were gone."

Sokira sorted through the foggy memories of that time in her mind, much to Jenova's contempt. "I don't remember . . ."

He smiled gently. "You wouldn't. You were dead, silly." He choked on some blood. "I, however, remember it all clearly." He lifted a hand up to stroke her face. "It's my fault. When they told me there was a way to bring you back, I demanded that they follow it through. I wasn't thinking clearly, I didn't even ask how they were going to do it."

A tear found its way down Sokira's cheek. "Genesis," She meekly reached up to hold his face. A solemn look overtook him. "And now I've paid the price for my mistake." That snapped the last bit of control that Jenova had over her. She shook her head. "No, Genesis, don't be like that." Genesis looked intently into her eyes, and his own grew large. "Sokira?" She nodded, crying.

He stepped closer to her - pushing her blade further into himself in the process - and wrapped his arms around her with the last of his strength. "I love you. More than anything." Sokira felt blood start to flow up into her mouth. "Forever?" She meekly wrapped her dying arms around him. He nodded into her shoulder, kissing her neck. "Forever."

She smiled, seeing the world go black.

Soon after, Genesis collapsed with her, holding her in his arms as they took their last breaths, together.


	27. Chapter 27

Aramea flew faster than she'd ever thought possible, knowing that she couldn't be too late. When she finally reached Nibelheim, she saw a burning building, and vaguely, Rufus Shinra sitting limply against a wall, his face was blank, empty. Yet, she wasn't sure why, she didn't land. Something was going on there, that much was obvious, but it wasn't where she needed to be. How she knew that, she couldn't say.

So she flew past that scene of events and over the peak of Mt. Nibel, to see a tiny reactor sitting on one of the little hills. Something tugged at her mind, and she slowly circled down to land. Once she had, she ran inside the building immediately, as fast as she could. What she found in the building was worse than she had imagined. She found Cloud and knelt down to speak to him.

"Cloud?" He opened his eyes slowly. "Aramea?" She sighed with relief that he wasn't dead. "Where's Sephiroth?" He turned his head to look through an old door. "In there." She nodded and stood up, running up the stairs to get inside the faintly lit room.

She stopped dead in her tracks at what she saw.

In front of her, Genesis and Sokira, both with their wings fully extended, were impaled by each other's swords, and dead. "What?" She asked meekly, forgetting about Sephiroth completely. "No, please, no!" "Aramea," Came a deep voice she recognized. She turned to see Sephiroth leaning against a wall. He looked at her with an expression of amazement and confusion. "What happened?" He asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." She answered. 

* * *

Marlene shook her head sadly after Mai had offered to get her something to eat. They were back at the bar now, Tifa hadn't returned yet. "Well, um, I'm gonna go. I'll see you guys later." "Alright, bye." Zack answered. He turned back to Marlene. "You feeling ok?" She shook her head again. "I think I need to sleep a little." He nodded. "Ok, I'll help you up to your bed." She meekly got up off of the barstool and let Zack wrap his arms around her waist. She took a few steps, and then felt something strange start to happen in her legs. At first, it didn't hurt, it more like a tingly feeling, like bugs were crawling all over her. And then, sharp pain started to creep up into her feet. With every throb, it hurt worse. She gasped and fell over. "Marlene!" Zack yelled, falling with her and keeping her from hitting the ground. She couldn't answer him. The pain was still getting worse, and it started to envelope her whole body.

The moment it reached her chest, she fell unconscious.

"Marlene!" Zack screamed. "Marlene!" Her eyes remained closed; her thin neck limply rested against his arms. "Wake up!" He picked her up and held her close, making sure that her heart was still beating; it was, but weakly. He tightly clutched her for a moment, and then stood up, carrying her up the stairs to her bedroom. He gently set her down on her bed, and picked up one of her hands, holding it close, and praying that somehow, she would live.

* * *

"Hello?" Marlene called out in the bright light that surrounded her. "Hello?" A quiet chuckle came from behind her. "I'm right here, silly." She turned around to see someone she never expected to ever see again. "Aerith?" Aerith smiled and took a few steps towards her. "Who do you think?" Marlene smiled and ran to embrace the older girl. "It's really you, isn't it? But how?" Aerith stepped back. "Did you forget? I'm - or I was, an ancient."

"Oh right," Marlene thought aloud. "You don't fade into the life stream unless you decide to." Then she thought for a moment. "Wait, does this mean I'm dead?" She looked at Aerith with panic in her eyes. Aerith shook her head. "No, but you're close to it. What happened?" Marlene sadly looked down at her legs, which, to her surprise, weren't covered with dark blotches. "Well, I got geostigma somehow." Aerith's brows furrowed. "That really would be a problem, wouldn't it. And the water at my church didn't heal you."

Marlene shook her head. "I don't know what to do. I can't die, I'm not ready to." Aerith smiled sadly. "Neither was I." Marlene nodded. "But," Aerith added onto her previous statement, "Let's see what we can do about your problem." Marlene smiled. Aerith started walking through the light, and Marlene followed her closely. "Can you tell me something?" Aerith asked. "Yeah," Marlene answered. "How do you feel about Zack?"

Marlene stopped in her tracks. "Um," Aerith smiled at her. "You can tell me." Marlene swallowed. "I like him. A lot." Aerith chuckled knowingly. "I thought so. That's alright you know," Marlene looked up timidly. "Really?" Aerith nodded. "I'm not upset about it at all." Marlene looked up at the older girl. "How did you know I was worried about that?"

Aerith smiled and laughed a little. "There aren't many secrets here in the lifestream." Marlene felt herself blush. "Oh." "Here we are!" Aerith said suddenly, after a few moments of silence. Looking up, Marlene saw what seemed to be a small oasis, white flowers moved gently bak and forth in the slight wind that came off of the water. "This is the purest lifestream that I've found so far Marlene, it should heal you."

Marlene hesitated. "But won't I taint it? Because of my geostigma?" Aerith shook her head. "It will purge itself and you at the same time. So what are you waiting for?" She laughed, and pulled Marlene to brim of the clear water. Marlene took a deep breath, and turned to Aerith. "Thank you." She wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. "So much." "You're welcome." Aerith said simply, smiling. Then Marlene turned, and jumped into the cool, clean lifestream.

When she opened her eyes again, what she saw was quite different. The room was dark, and she could hear someone snoring across the hall. When she slowly started to get up, she became aware of the fact that Tifa was asleep next to her, sitting on an old wooden chair. "Tifa?" She asked; her voice sounded hoarse. Tifa's eyes flitted open almost immediately. She looked over to see that Marlene had woken up. "You're awake!" She exclaimed happily. Marlene nodded. "Yeah." Then she was caught up in a tight hug. "Zack told me what happened when I got back, I've been so worried about you." Marlene hugged her back. "Well if I'm right, you won't have to worry anymore." Tifa let go and looked at her with curious eyes. "What do you mean?"

Marlene scooted away, and then lifted the bedsheets off of her legs, which had been bandaged again. Not wasting any time, she started to pull the bandages away from her skin.

Tifa stared in amazement at what they saw. There was nothing on her legs, not even a scar. Marlene started to cry happy tears, and Tifa, who had barely been able to keep from crying all night, started to cry with her.

It was finally over.


	28. Chapter 28 Epilogue

Denzel took a deep breath, preparing for his part in the ceremony. Marlene giggled next to him. "Are you nervous?" He looked over at her and grinned. "Only if you are." She turned back to the ornate wooden doors. "Well then you are really nervous." He jabbed her with his elbow. "You'll be fine. All you have to do is -"

"Alright everyone, it's time to start, just remember what we did at rehearsal." Tifa said, interrupting their conversation. She was wearing a light pink, floor length satin dress that showed off her curves exquisitely.

Mai, who was blushing furiously, came up behind her, wearing the same basic style of dress. Denzel smiled when he saw how pretty she looked.

Cloud entered from another door, wearing a silver suit, followed by Zack, who was wearing the same style. Tifa turned to him and smiled. "Are we ready?" He nodded, and she turned around to open the doors. "Wait," Came a soft yet strong voice. All of them turned around to see possibly one of the most beautiful brides they'd ever laid eyes on.

She blushed when she noticed their gaze. "I'm having a problem with my veil," She said, unsurely, looking towards Tifa. "What is it?" She asked, stepping closer. "It won't stay right, it keeps sliding around." Was the reply. Tifa reached towards a small table and grabbed two small items from on top of it. "This is why I always keep a couple of bobby pins on hand." With that, she had fixed the problem.

Then she turned back around to open the doors, and everyone got to their proper places. The music started playing, a soft, gentle lullaby, and Marlene and Zack went first, arm in arm, to their proper places up on the stage. Mai and Denzel followed in the same manner, and then Cloud and Tifa. Finally, a different song started playing. A softer, yet stronger melody echoed lightly in the cathedral walls, and all of the people in the audience pews, old and new friends alike, stood up to honor the bride. 

* * *

Aramea took a deep breath, trying to keep from laughing, crying, and spontaneously combusting all at the same time. Her stomach was tied into a thousand knots, each one tighter and more complicated than the last, and she was suddenly glad she'd forgotten to eat breakfast that morning. Then she heard the song that he had picked out specifically for her to walk down the aisle to, and her heart skipped several beats.

It was finally time. After months of slaving over specific details with Tifa in the bar, months of searching all over Edge to find the perfect white satin dress, and months of anticipation and excitement, it was time.

She took the first steps to a new life, feeling her love grow with each one. 

* * *

Sephiroth had purposefully been avoiding looking for her until her song started, but now that it had, he saw no reason to not. He had to do a double take, just to make sure that she hadn't turned into an angel. And even after that he wasn't sure that she hadn't.

Her long pink hair was delicately pulled back, and her face was framed by a thin white veil that went down to her hands, that were holding a bouquet of white roses. Her dress draped over her feminine frame as though it had been made with her specifically in mind, shimmering with every step she took.

It took all of his self control to keep breathing.

She reached the steps up to the altar after what seemed like an eternity, and smiled shyly up at him when he took her hand and led her to the priest.

The rest of the ceremony was a blur for the both of them. The reception was beautiful, thanks to Tifa's planning, but they barely even noticed it. They were only fully aware of the fact that their hands were in eachother's, and that they were finally married.

It was almost as though noone else was there as they danced together on the floor, foreheads together, taking in eachother's sweet scent.

And then, it was all over. The guests slowly started to dwindle, making various wishes for happiness, which were accepted gratefully by both the bride and groom.

"Are you ready?" Sephiroth finally whispered into her ear, tickling her. She giggled lightly, and nodded. "Then let's go." He playfully picked her up, and walked out the door, fully expecting the rice that was about to be thrown onto them.

And he was right, of course. The crowd yelled and clapped when they emerged, a sea of familiar and happy faces. Someone started a countdown, and when it was time, Sephiroth started running through the sudden downpour of rice, Aramea hiding her face against his neck and laughing the whole time.

They reached the car, and drove away from the madness; neither of them said anything during the drive. At least, until Aramea realized they'd been driving for an hour. "Um, Sephiroth?" He looked over at her, an impish smile covering his face. "Yes?"

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"Can't you just tell me?"

"No."

"Why not?" She was getting impatient.

"It's a secret."

"And why is it a secret? I thought we agreed there wouldn't be any post wedding antics."

Sephiroth laughed. "You'll see." He winked over at her, successfully ending the conversation. She simply crossed her arms and stared out the window as the scenery whizzed past them.

The next thing she was aware of was Sephiroth gently picking her up from the car. "We're here," He whispered in her ear, gently kissing her cheek. She opened her eyes completely. "Where are we exactly?" She realized that they were on a beach, parked in the driveway of a small house. "We're home." Sephiroth smiled, and walked to the front door as this sunk in for Aramea. He carried her over the threshold, up the stairs, and into the master bedroom, gently setting her down on the bed. Then he turned around to get the luggage. "You bought a house?" She finally responded. He laughed and turned to face her in the doorway.

"Of course not." She stared at him, unamused. "I built it." He finished, and went back to getting the luggage. She crossed her arms, leaning back against the plush pillows. "Naturally." After a few minutes, Sephiroth returned, carrying a few suitcases in his arms. Then he collapsed on the bed with her. "It's been a long day." He commented.

Aramea nodded awkwardly. "Yeah, it has." He looked over at her. "What is it?" She shook her head, biting her lip. "Nothing." He raised a brow. "I know that look, and I know it means _something_. What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath. "To be honest, I don't think that . . ." She trailed off, unable to find her voice. Sephiroth pulled her closer, wrapping his strong arms around her waist. That definitely did not help. "Don't think . . . ?" He whispered in her ear. She felt chills go up her spine. "I don't think that I can do this tonight." She finally blurted out, her nerves starting to feel as though they were melting.

She felt his body slightly stiffen. She looked over her shoulder back at him. "I'm sorry, I'm just - " He kissed her, interrupting her sentence. "You're just scared." He smiled at her. She frowned. "That's not what I was going to say." "But it's still true." He said, pulling her closer and resting his head against her neck. "And it's fine. I can wait until you're ready, whether it's tomorrow or the day after that."

She closed her eyes, enjoying his warmth. "Thank you."

"Goodnight." He responded, nuzzling her. 

* * *

"So what do you want to do today?" Zack asked Marlene as they bounded down the stairs from their respective rooms. "Hm, a stroll in the park sounds nice," She said, musing over the various options of what to do on a Saturday.

"I know what you could do," Denzel said, sitting at the bar with Mai. "You could go to the movies with us." Marlene grabbed a muffin and a bottle of orange juice to snack on. "What are you going to go see?" Mai shrugged. "We're not quite sure yet." Zack took hold of Marlene's hand. "Well let us know when you decide, I just got an idea." He smiled impishly down at Marlene. "What?" She asked apprehensively. "Come on."

And he pulled her along with him out the door.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked as Zack put the keys into Cloud's bike. "Yeah I'm sure." He grinned, revving the engine. The bike snarled under his touch. She took a step back. "Won't Cloud be upset about this?" Zack tossed a helmet her way. "He'll get over it."

"Zack?" Cloud's voice called. He was close. "Come on, before he spots us!" Zack said, gesturing for her to hurry. Cloud came around the end of the alleyway. "Zack?" She could she that he wasn't very happy, and made up her mind.

She tossed the helmet down onto the curb and hopped onto the bike behind Zack. "Alright!" Zack yelled, and the bike took off.

"ZACK!" They heard Cloud scream, and she turned around to see him start to chase them, but give up after he realized it was hopeless. She knew that when they got home they would be grounded for the rest of their lives, but for the moment, she wasn't going to worry about it.

Zack was laughing away, sounding like a crazed teenager, and she joined in, deciding that she was going to make sure the last bits of her freedom weren't wasted.


End file.
